Splinched
by TurquoiseMonkey
Summary: Squinting she saw Ron's gangly silhouette running towards her, her body sagged with relief as she ran towards him. Suddenly strong arms wrapped around her waist and a rancid breath fell on her neck...the unthinkable happens as Harry, Ron and Hermione are separated at Bill and Fleur's wedding and each must make the journey alone to destroy the remaining horcruxes and reunite
1. The Wedding

**Hi, so this is my first attempt at a Butterfly effect fiction. Ron's drunken uncle falls over at Bill and Fleur's wedding causing events to take a different turn. The first part in italics is obviously the wonderful work of JK Rowling and I can take no credit for her words or characters**

_He had never been to a wedding before, so he could not judge how Wizarding celebrations differed from Muggle ones, though he was pretty sure that the latter would not involve a wedding cake topped with two model phoenixes that took flight when the cake was cut, or bottles of champagne that floated unsupported through the crowd. As the evening drew in, and moths began to swoop under the canopy, now lit with floating golden lanterns, the revelry became more and more uncontained. Fred and George had long since disappeared into the darkness with a pair of Fleur's cousins; Charlie, Hagrid, and a squat wizard in a purple porkpie hat were singing "Odo the Hero" in the corner._

_Wandering through the crowd so as to escape a drunken uncle of Ron's who seemed unsure whether or not Harry was his son, Harry spotted an old wizard sitting alone at a table. His cloud of white hair made him look rather like an aged dandelion clock and was topped by a moth-eaten fez. He was vaguely familiar: Racking his brains, Harry suddenly realized that this was Elphias Doge, member of the Order of the Phoenix and the writer of Dumbledore's obituary.  
_

_Harry approached him. "May I sit down?"  
_

_"Of course, of course," said Doge; he had a rather high-pitched, wheezy voice.  
_

_Harry leaned in. "Mr. Doge, I'm Harry Potter."  
_

_Doge gasped. "My dear boy! Arthur told me you were here, disguised... I am so glad, so honored!"  
_

_In a flutter of nervous pleasure Doge poured Harry a goblet of champagne.  
_

_"I thought of writing to you," he whispered, "after Dumbledore... the shock... and for you, I am sure..."  
_

_Doge's tiny eyes filled with sudden tears._

The music stopped and across the marquee Harry saw that Ron's drunken uncle had now slipped and spilled mead all over the fiddlers and the accordionist. Mrs Weasley was giving him a stern talking to as Ron's Dad ushered the soaked musicians into the Burrow where they could presumably perform some cleaning charms on themselves in front of a well-lit mirror.

Many of the couples, including Ron and Hermione, who were dancing, left the empty floor and started to mingle or sit down at the tables around as the still dry harpist played out a plain twinkly sort of tune, the type of music you might here in the background of a lift or a supermarket.

Harry ignored the interruption and turned back to Doge eager to discover any more information about Dumbledore.  
_  
_"I saw the obituary you wrote for the Daily Prophet," said Harry. "I didn't realize you knew Professor Dumbledore so well."

"Do you think we should rescue Harry from Great Auntie Muriel" Ron asked Hermione plopping a glass of butterbeer down in front of her and sipping his own glass.

"I don't think he wants to be rescued" Hermione said looking over at the polyjuiced Harry talking earnestly with two elderly persons "Don't you recognise that wizard?"

Ron frowned and squinted in Doge's direction "That's Doge isn't it, the one who wrote Dumbledore's obituary."

"Exactly" Hermione said knowingly "Harry will want to talk to him about Dumbledore."

There was another reason Hermione didn't want to disturb Harry, she wanted to be alone with Ron a little longer in the hope that the loss of music hadn't dulled his nerve.

She didn't appear to be as lucky as both of them descended into an awkward silence each knowing what they wanted to say to the other but without having the guts to say it. Why was this so hard Hermione thought frustrated, she knew Ron like her so why couldn't she just tell him she liked him or even just kiss him the same way Harry had just kissed Ginny after the Quidditch Cup Final last year.

Ron apparently looked for something to break the silence pulled out the silver Deluminator left to him by Dumbledore and flicked it open and shut experimentally.

A nearby floating candle was extinguished and then relit.

"Why do you think Dumbledore gave this to me?" he asked turning it over in his hands

"I don't know" Hermione said thoughtfully "You were right earlier, there are other magical objects that can produce or vanish light so I think it must do something else. Are there any engravings?"

Ron ran his fingers over the smooth surface and held it up to the floating candle to examine it more carefully "No nothing" he said.

"Oh there you are Ron" Mrs Weasley rushed up beside them, she looked quite pink from both shouting at Ron's uncle and the champagne she had had so far "Would you be able to see Mr Perkins to the apparition point, I think it's gotten rather late for him the poor old dear."

Ron looked at the old wizard his father had worked with and saw him yawing loudly as he crouched low over his walking stick at the edge of the marquee.

"Can't Ginny or one of the others do it?" he asked reluctant to leave Hermione

"Oh for heaven's sake Ron this is your brother's wedding" Mrs Weasley said shrilly "I would ask Fred or George to do it but they seem to have disappeared."

"Fine" Ron grumbled pulling himself up "Here" he said handing the Deluminator to Hermione "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." and Hermione went faintly pink at the return of Ron's confidence.

Mrs Weasley looked at the pair of them with a wide smile and satisfied eyes before she apparently remembered that they needed more butterbeer and tottered off to the house to get some.

Hermione twisted the Deluminator in her hands, a few tables away she saw Viktor Krum who looked as though he was having a row with Luna Lovegood's father and wondered whether she should try to intervene. She decided not to as she would rather wait for Ron and entertained the notion that maybe she should just drag Ron off to some dark bushes as Fred and George had done with the Veela cousins.

Just as she was wondering whether she could truly carry such a move off something large and silverly entered the tent. A magnificent silver lynx sored over the heads of the wedding guests who gasped as it landed in the middle of the floor.

It opened its mouth and the voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt boomed "The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

Mayhem filled the tent as frightened guests' disapperated. Hermione threw the Deluminator into her beaded bag and pushed her way through the mob of guests shouting for friends and relatives; she jumped up trying to see Harry or Ron but was unable to spot them in the throng of panicking witches and wizards.

She saw Lupin, Tonks and Bill shooting shield charms at the marquee to protect the guests but they were too late, black figures in Death Eater masks suddenly appeared circling the wedding as though hunting a herd of frightened gazelles. Flames shot over head setting chairs and curtains alight. Screams deafened Hermione's ears, whether hysterical or uttered in pain she had no time to care, she had one thought on her mind Harry and Ron.

Unable to see Harry in the chaos Hermione dodged in and out of the confusion and fighting and ran out of the marquee onto the moonlit lawn. Squinting she saw Ron's gangly silhouette running towards her and felt as though she was on air. They just needed to find Harry she thought internally her body sagging with relief as she ran towards him.

Suddenly strong arms wrapped around her waist and a rancid breath fell on her neck and she felt her body twist grotesquely.

_Crack!_

"_Hermione!_" Ron screamed. She had vanished. No! She couldn't be gone!

He ran to the spot where the Death Eater had disapperated as though he could make her reappear unable to comprehend what had happened.

Ron heard his sister's piercing scream echo from the fighting. No not her too!

He ran to the half destroyed marquee but before he could enter the fray before he could even cross from the newly groomed grass to polished marble dance floor and long spider like hand grasped his shoulder and he felt his body compress painfully as though it was pressed into a tiny keyhole. The last image he saw was that of Harry staring at him with horror unaware of a stunning spell heading his way.

_Crack!_

"Ron!" Harry cried as he watched a Death Eater kidnap his best friend.

"Duck" someone yelled.

Harry didn't have time to react and suddenly he was shoved down behind a table. A stunning spell shot over him just where his head had been, it passed so close that it ripped the string tying his moleskin pouch around his neck and the pouch fell to the ground below. Beside him crouched Tonks whose blond hair now was rather wild and she peeked up over the rim of the cream tablecloth to shoot her own series of stunning spells back.

Lupin ran behind the table to join them "It's no use" he said "There's too many of them. I've told Arthur to surrender."

Tonks nodded

"What but you can't?" Harry protested "Ron, Hermione..."

"It's you they're after" Tonks said breathlessly and poked her head up to shoot a few more defensive spells.

"Right on my count" Lupin said and before Harry could do anything to stop him Lupin was grabbing both Tonks and Harry's shoulders "1, 2, 3…"

_Crack!_

**Hope you liked it, if you have time please let me know what you think with a review**


	2. Behind Bars

**Please be warned the last section of this chapter shows a scene of rape that some readers may find unpleasant and therefore are welcome to skip over. **

"What are you doing? We have to go back!" demanded Harry; they had landed in the middle of a small sitting room of what looked like an even smaller flat. Unironed brightly coloured clothes were strewn all over the sofa and there was a desk wedged in by the window that strained under the weight of several large dusty books and an empty Grindylow tank that held a folded up telescope.

"Remus I have to warn Dad" Tonks said fearfully

"Of course" Lupin nodded and she dug out some parchment from under the heavy tomes to begin to scribble on it.

Harry couldn't understand them, had they not heard him "They took Ron." he spluttered "We have to go back and help them"

"Harry they were after you" Lupin said and adding before Harry could protest further "We had to get you away from there so Mr Weasley could surrender and prove the Weasleys weren't hiding Harry Potter. If you were discovered at that wedding all of the Weasleys would be sent straight to Azkaban."

Harry had an image of Ginny lying pale and alone in a cold cell at Azkaban as a dementor drained the last of her wonderful brightness from her lifeless body.

"They took Ron" he repeated weakly.

"I know" Lupin said sympathetically putting his hands on Harry's shoulders in what he seemed to think was a reassuring manner "But you can't do anything for Ron by going back. The only way we've can discover where they've taken him is to keep our heads down, with any luck they will have taken him to the Ministry for questioning and he will be released once they discover you are not at the Burrow. He's a pure blood Harry, there's no other reason for them to detain him."

This did not serve to placate Harry and he felt Lupin was giving him a rather optimistic view to keep him returning. But a part of him could not wonder if they were right, if he would be putting everyone in danger if he went back to the Burrow.

"What about Hermione?" he said a little more measured "I couldn't find her."

"I saw her with Mrs Weasley before Kingsley's patronus arrived" Tonks said now attaching the letter a small owl and opening the window to let it to go "If she's with them I'm sure she'll be safe."

Harry noticed that she didn't sound as confident as she normally did. He sat down on the sofa and looked morosely at his hands; they were now his hands and not the red haired muggle's. Looking in the mirror above the mantelpiece he noticed that the polyjuice potion had worn off.

"I'll make some tea" Tonks announced and she stepped into the tiny kitchen off from the living room.

"Once everything has died down we'll get word from the Order" Lupin said "You'll see Ron and Hermione soon I promise"

"What does it mean, the Ministry has fallen?" Harry eventually asked "Does Voldemort now have control of the aurors?"

"I expect so" Lupin said sagely "It wouldn't be difficult, one of his followers, Yaxley was very high up in the Department of Law Enforcement before he was implicated in Dumbledore's death."

Harry remembered the brutish Death Eater at the top of the Astronomy Tower when _it_ had happened.

In the kitchen a tea cup smashed, Lupin gave an amused smile. It vanished however when Tonks appeared in the doorway looking quite white.

"Remus I've just remembered" she said quietly "Yaxley was there, he was the one shooting all those curses at Harry…I fought him."  
Lupin took a deep breath and said in a kind of forced calm "It was dark, did he see your face?"

Tonks nodded "Definitely"

"Pack" he said and suddenly the pair of them were flying around the flat throwing clothes and books into suitcases.

"I should have realised straight away" Tonks moaned mournfully from the bedroom tipping entire drawers into what looked like a bottomless trunk "They could be here any second."

"But if Yaxley has been in prison…" Harry protested.

"Harry there has been a coup" Lupin reminded him from the kitchen where he was packing away food from the fridge into a separate suitcase. The flat was so small he did not had to raise his voice to be heard. "The Ministry and the Death Eaters will now be one and the same. It is likely Yaxley has or will be reinstated at the Ministry if not promoted."

"He'll take any excuse to arrest a known member of the Order of the Phoenix" Tonks said slamming the trunk shut and levitating it into the hall.

"Not to mention her werewolf husband" Lupin added floating the bags he had packed alongside her towards the door. "Ready?"

"Ye…the photos" Tonks gasped and she jumped over the sofa to scoop up some framed photos on the mantelpiece as well as a nearby photo album. Shoving them into the nearest trunk she straightened up and nodded at Lupin.

Lupin waved his wand and the luggage around them shrunk to the size of small golf balls and Lupin and Tonks bent to pick them up and put them in their pockets.

There was a loud thundering at the door as somebody pounded on the chipped timber "This is the Ministry of Magic! Open up!" somebody shouted.

"Off we go then" Tonks said with almost a grin she grabbed Harry's hand and whilst Lupin took the other. With a loud _crack_ they were gone.

oOoOoOo

"Excuze me" Apolline Delacour banged angrily on the door of the next cell "You cannot just keep us in 'ere. I demand to zee zomeone in charge"

Ron craned his neck once more through his cell doors trying to get a good look at the other prisoners. He had seen Lee Jordan being taken off somewhere and several other wedding guests, most of whom were a lot quieter and more scared than Madam Delecour, but he had not seen a hair of Hermione.

"I demand to zee zomeone" Madam Delacour shouted and it sounded as though she was banging one of her high heeled shoes against the golden bars of the Ministry cells. Ron had never been this far down with his father before. It was where they kept criminals before they went before the Wizengamot. The lit torches against the dark green tiles gave the place a ghostly atmosphere

"Please Madam Delacour" Ron whispered to the angry Frenchwoman "Don't provoke them"

He had two goals at the moment, find Hermione and don't get questioned. If he was questioned, if he was given veritiserum or put through legilimancy Harry and Dumbledore's plan would burn to ash. Ron did not have time to worry about Fleur's mum right now.

"Don't provoke zem! Don't provoke zem!" she shouted "I do not know 'ow it iz done in England but in France we do not attack otherz weddings!"

"Shut up you miserable bitch" a greasy haired young man with horrible acne spat. Ron recognised him to be Stan Shunpike the conductor on the Knight Bus, he had a faint glassy eyed expression, yes, Harry was right he had been placed under the Imperius Curse.

"I will not shut up" Madam Delacour cried indignantly "I want to zee….ahhhh!"

Stan had shot a curse at her. Ron couldn't see what it was to witness the results but whatever it was it had certainly made the formidable half veela scarily silent.

"You!" Stan redirected his gaze to Ron "You're a Weasley, you can go next."

He opened Ron's cell door and directed him outwards at wand point. Ron craned his neck around; Hermione was not in any of the cells. Where was she he thought frantically, twisting and turning to look in every direction. Blood chilled his veins, maybe they were questioning her, maybe they had finished and had no use for her any more.

No he couldn't think like that, he had to get out of here and find Harry…find Hermione

"Stan it's me its Ron" Ron said desperately once they were alone in the lift trying to shake Stan's claw like grip off of him "We met at the Quidditch World Cup, remember?"

If he could only snap Stan out of the curse. Given Stan's profession in life it seemed unlikely he had enough mastery over his magic to throw off an Imperius Curse but Ron was desperate.

"I rode on the Knight bus with my family loads of times, come on Stan you're not one of them" Ron insisted to the glazed youth "I know you're in there, fight it Stan fight it."

Ron thought he saw Stan's eyebrow give the tiniest twitch but then it was still "I am loyal to the Dark Lord" he said in his strong Cockney accent "'E will purify our to race to its former glory"

"No he won't" Ron cried in frustration "He's a foul git and you know it, come on Stan please, _fight it._"

"_Petrificus Totalus_" Stan uttered in return and Ron's legs and arms snapped together and he fell forward onto the lift floor breaking his nose with a loud crunch.

The lift clanged to a halt. "Level 2, Department of Magical Law Enforcement" a cool female voice sounded in the lift. The doors opened to reveal a very tall man with a thick black beard. He looked down at where Ron lay with dismay.

"Shunpike what have I told you about getting the prisoners here in one piece" he warned in a gravelly sort of voice.

"Sorry Mr Runcorn sir" Stan said quickly in a much lighter fawning tone and he heaved the petrified Ron up by his shoulders, which was no mean feat for Ron was by now much bigger than Stan and so Runcorn uttered the counter curse. Ron steadied himself and looked around warily seeking out any sign of Hermione.

"Good" Runcorn said crisply "This way please Mr Weasley."

Ron felt the tip of Stan's wand poke sharply into his back and he followed Runcorn down past several dark offices. They passed a large window that looked down to the Atrium and he saw the golden statue of magical brethren had been shattered as though glass over the dark wood floor. They passed the cubicles of the Auror Office Ron saw several wizards riffling through files and upturning drawers spilling out parchment everywhere of one desk in particular, he noticed the Weird Sisters posters on the cubicle wall and the thick black boots under the desk and with a start realised it was Tonks' cubicle they were ransacking. Where was Tonks was she ok, and Kingsley, how had he known of the takeover, was he in the Ministry, did he make it out alive?

Thoughts raced through his mind and Ron wondered darkly whether the Death Eaters had even removed Scrimgeour's body yet. Stan poked and prodded him into a small office and into a hard chair in front of the desk. Everything on it was in its place, perfectly parallel or perpendicular. It reminded him horribly of Percy, Ron twisted in his seat, he didn't like to think of his brother no matter what the circumstances.

"Now let's see" Runcorn said sitting down at the desk and opening a dull brown file which he scanned over quickly "Weasley, Weasley, by our records Arthur Weasley has six sons, which one are you?"

Ron stayed silent and stared at Runcorn with what he hoped was a blank expression. He didn't know if Runcorn was a Death Eater, sympathiser or somebody who had been caught up in the coup and was playing for survival, whatever it was Ron bloody wasn't going to tell him anything.

Runcorn smiled and peered at Ron closely "William Weasley was recently scarred by the werewolf Greyback and I see no scars so that leaves five. Hmm…Charles Weasley is listed as working in Romania although he could have come back for the wedding" Runcorn stroked his beard thoughtfully and looked back down at the file "No he is listed as being born in 1972 and you don't quite look twenty six so that makes four. I know you are not that bore who works in the Minister's Office so that makes you either Fred, George or Ronald Weasley." He deduced before adding as an afterthought "Unless of course you are one of the many anonymous cousins."

His cousins of course, Ron could pretend to be one of his cousins. Nobody could expect Finlay or Wayne of knowing anything about the Order or Horcruxes or anything else for that matter.

Before he could say anything however Stan piped up "'E said 'is name was Ron sir, back in the lift."

_Fuck_. That was the last time he tried to help Stan Shunpike.

Runcorn smiled widely but it was not a friendly expression "Ronald Weasley, excellent" he clasped his hands in front of him on the desk "Now that we've got that sorted out Mr Weasley, please can you tell me where Harry Potter is?"

Ron shrugged "Don't know."

"Come now Mr Weasley, we know he was at the wedding."

No they didn't, how could they? Lee would never tell and even if they had already questioned Madam Delacour she didn't appear to be in the mood to cooperate. Every other guest the Ministry had would tell truthfully they had not seen Harry. "He wasn't, I only see Potter in the newspapers"

Runcorn laughed "Really Mr Weasley you'll have to do better than that" he looked once more down at the file "Mr Potter has stayed at your house on several occasions, lived in your dormitory for six years, in your second year you both breached the International Statute of Secrecy by the use of flying a car together and according to Madam Umbridge were thick as thieves in your fifth year."

"Yeah alright I knew Potter" Ron admitted suddenly coming up with an idea "But we haven't spoken in months, he dated my sister and cheated on her, treated her like dirt. When I confronted him he said it didn't matter, that we were only Weasleys and we were lucky to even be in the presence of _The Boy who Lived_. He treated me and my family like we were his servants, once we all had to move into The Leaky Cauldron just because he was lonely. Well we've had enough of it, like I said I only see him in the newspapers now."

Runcorn narrowed his eyes suspiciously and Ron couldn't tell if he believed him or not "Are you aware that the Ministry has uncovered strong evidence that suggest Potter was responsible for Professor Dumbledore's murder?" he eventually said "I hardly need say it would be most unfortunate for anyone who was found to be protecting him."

Ron tried to give off a disgusted air "I've got no reason to lie for that scum" he shrugged again.

Runcorn looked at Ron closely and for a horrible moment he feared he was reading his mind but finally Runcorn flipped the brown file closed casually and nodded to Stan "That will be all Shunpike, please take Mr Weasley back to his cell"

oOoOoOo

_Crack!_ Hermione fell to the hard ground with a thud, it felt like hard and prickly as though several nasty weeds had infected the grass beneath her. Sea air filled her nostrils and she heard the loud crash of waves coming from beneath her and realised she was on a cliff.

"I'll take that" her captor grunted and wrestled Hermione's wand away from her.

"No!" she cried but the Death Eater was much too strong. Squinting to make him out in the little moonlight she saw that he was well over six feet tall and almost as wide giving him an almost square like appearance. Hermione was sure his neck was thicker than her waist.

He flung his back hand hitting her and she fell once more to the ground feeling a sharp pain flood her nose and blood trickle down to her top lip. It had a bitter tangy taste.

The Death Eater snapped her wand in two and threw it away as if it were nothing more than a used quill. Something inside Hermione felt as though it had been ripped out and she was bleeding internally.

The Death Eater took out his wand and began waving it in mid-air muttering some words. She realised they were unlocking charms and saw for the first time that they were in the shadow of a great stone castle. It was a duller black than the inky sky behind it and several of its turrets looked to be crumbling but it was tall, tough and had large steep walls, one of which went right down to the cliff's edge.

Seizing her chance to escape, Hermione scrambled up hoping the Death Eater wouldn't notice until she got a good head start.

"Oh know you don't" the gruff voice shouted

She ran as far from that odious looking castle as she could. Footsteps pounded behind her, they got louder and louder. Heavy hands grabbed at her shoulders and once more she was shoved to the ground so forcefully the wet grass and soil tasted her mouth.

"Ungrateful little brat" the Death Eater grumbled, he was lying on top of her pinning her to the ground "I'll teach you some manners."

He pulled upwards so she was on all fours and Hermione realised with horror what he was about to do.

"No! No!" she screamed as the back of her dress was lifted up and the night air hit her backside and bare legs. She clawed at the ground desperately trying to pull herself away but two heavy thick hands held her hips in place. One grabbed her hands and twisted them painfully behind her back whilst the other pulled at her hair until her face was once more shoved in the dirt. Tears streamed from her eyes.

"Filthy blood traitor" the Death Eater said with almost satisfaction "You'll enjoy this"

Pain like she had never felt before as he entered her. Someone was letting out an ear piercing scream and she realised it was her who was screaming.

Every thrust brought fresh agony and she felt as though he were trying to split her in two.

Then it was over. He collapsed on top of her his rancid breath panting on the back of her neck and his bloated body crushing her into the dirt underneath

Hermione whimpered, she could not gather up any more sound in her body. The waves crashed against the cliff and Hermione felt her numb hands collapse against the cold grass as they were let go.

"Come on" the Death Eater grunted standing up and pulling her up by her hair. He dragged her by her scalp towards the castle. Hermione who could barely walk tripped and stumbled several times bashing her knees against the stone courtyard once they had reached the castle.

Her captor did not stop to let her right herself and she half hobbled, half was dragged into the empty nothingness beyond the looming front door. The immediate inside of the castle was pitch-black, a candle was lit and Hermione saw the entrance hall was just as sparse as the cliff outside.

It was not like Hogwarts at all. There were no friendly waving portraits or warm wafting hearths. The staircase was steep and narrow winding up higher than Hermione could make out in the blackness. Everything was cold and dark and stone. The only sound was a small flutter from high above them that made Hermione wonder if they had disturbed some bats.

She was dragged across the stone flagons until another door was opened revealing a second staircase that wound downwards. The descended down into what must have been the cliff face until they reached a narrow twisting corridor.

The unknown Death Eater let go of Hermione and she collapsed to the ground unable to hold herself up. He took out a ring of keys and picked the biggest and dullest silver key to unlock a heavy iron door. There were bars on a little square hole in the middle.

She was yanked up and thrown inside the dank dungeon. The door closed with a clang.

**Thank you for your reviews so far, please let me know what you think of this chapter**


	3. A New Morning

A raven cawed loudly somewhere in the deep forest breaking the gently trilling and chirps of the dawn chorus. The little remnants of the sky that could be seen between the thick canopies of the trees above seemed to be turning a lighter shade of inky blue. The melodic sounds of the twittering birds dulled Harry's agitation somewhat as well as the aches in his shins. Remus had insisted they Apparate several times to spots around the country before they arrived in the forest which seemed to be their final destination.

"I'm beginning to wonder if you aren't channeling Mad Eye's spirit Remus" Tonks joked although Harry noticed it lacked a lot of her usual spark as she spoke about her recently deceased mentor.

As they moved deeper into the thickets the trees got closer and closer together so they had to walk in a single line, Lupin in front with Harry in-between him and Tonks. Harry knew better than to believe this was a coincidence. The undergrowth grew as well with thick thorns, nettles and dead branches interspersed and soon Harry had to raise his legs higher and higher to step over them and it felt as though he was doing some sort of strange modern dance rather than actual walking. All the while though in the back of his mind a gentle drum beat thudded _Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, Luna, Mr and Mrs Weasley._

Lupin stopped so suddenly Harry almost walked into him "Here we are" he announced.

Harry and Tonks looked around at the dark undergrowth each only able to make out the trees nearest them "And where exactly is here?" Tonks asked.

"Somewhere safe" Lupin said and he approached a particularly knobbly ash tree which he tapped three times on the trunk with his wand. It was as though somebody invisible was carving into the wood, a deep scoring mark slid horizontally across the trunk then downwards then back again horizontally. It was a very small door Harry realised.

Lupin gave the door a small push and it opened inwards "In we go."

Harry and Tonks gave each other warying looks hoping there was more magic involved and they weren't expected to hide from Death Eaters in a tree trunk. Harry went first into the trunk where he found he stop at the top of a spiral wooden staircase and he descended slowly downwards whispering "Lumos" as he went into blackness. Eventually the staircase stopped and Harry saw an arched door in front of him, he pushed it open with a loud creak and revealed a small old fashioned but very comfortable looking living room complete with two tartan armchairs and a sofa, bookcases lining the walls, a game of chess on a dining table that was not yet finished and an empty fireplace. Looking around Harry noticed that everything was covered in a thick layer of dust and that clearly no-one had been here in a long time.

"Whoops" Harry heard a stumble behind him and saw Tonks had tripped on the last step but been caught by Lupin just in time. He lifted her up out of his arms and kissed her gently on the forehead. Harry turned away trying not to intrude, he looked more closely at the fireplace where with a start he recognised pictures of his parents, Sirius and an older couple with a man who had Lupin's brown eyes and the woman who had his sandy brown hair.

"Remus what is this place?" Tonks asked looking around.

Lupin waved his wand and several gas lamps around the room flared into life giving it a warm glow "James used to call it 'The Den'. It was my hideout during the first war" he said "I was living with my parents at the time but when Order members started to be betrayed by Peter. I moved out so they couldn't be targeted and I didn't have much money at the time so I built this place."

Harry blew dust of the wedding photo of his mother and father, he had the same photo in his trunk back at the Burrow and it was comforting to see it again. "Where are we?" he asked

"Glyn Cothi Forest in near Carmarthen" Lupin replied "I'm sorry we had to walk here but I couldn't remember exactly where to Apparate."

"That's alright" Tonks yawned flopping into one of the armchairs "Just as long as you don't expect any more trekking tonight."

Her yawn was infectious and Harry realised how tired he was too.

"The bedrooms are through there" he pointed "Why don't you two get some rest and I'll unpack."

oOoOoOo

A great clanging awoke Ron from where he lay asleep on the wooden bench in his cell and he heard shouts from the hall beyond his bars.

"Oi come on you lot" he heard Stan yelling "Out!"

Ron peered out of his bars and saw a lot of the cell doors opening and the wedding guests coming out looking tired and bewildered. Madam Delacour leaned heavily against the walls of the hall; she looked pale and drawn as though she had been tortured for her behaviour last night. There was still a formidable expression on her face and Ron knew instantly that _she_ had not betrayed Harry.

"What's going on?" asked a wizened old man in a top hat that Bill had introduced as one of his colleagues last night.

"We're letting you go" Ron looked to see Stan was accompanied by a familiar troll like accomplice, Marcus Flint. Flint shot a dirty look to Madam Delacour "Unfortunately we need the cells although I imagine we'll be seeing you back here soon enough filthy half breed."

Madam Delacour gave him a contemptuous look but the effect was diminished by her weakened state.

Flint and Stan started herding people towards the lift before Ron heard Lee Jordan say "Hey you've missed one" he nodded towards Ron's still closed cell.

Flint laughed "Yeah like we're going to let Potter's best mate go"

Ron gripped the bars of his cell tightly; his mum would allow blast ended skrewts in the house before they got anything from him. As he watched the others go he suddenly realised this was his only opportunity to get a message back to the Order but he had no idea what he could say. That he hadn't said anything that he wouldn't talk, that he would try to escape, but how could he possibly relay any of that without Stan or Flint noticing?

"Hey Lee!" he yelled from his cell "I solemnly swear…"

Lee grinned widely as the lift grate closed on him "Me too mate" he shouted back "Me too!"

Ron's stomach grumbled in the quiet as he heard the lift lurch back upwards and he wandered back to his bench to lie down once more. It was probably morning he realised and he imagined waking up to one of his mum's scrumptious cooked breakfasts of bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and all manner of other mouth-watering delights. Then they would be setting out, him, Harry and Hermione on their…was quest the right word?

Would they have said goodbye to everyone, maybe not, if they had his mum might have locked them in the house.

Ron wondered where Harry was now, was he with the Order, was he attempting some stupid rescue plan or more likely had he used it as a ridiculously stupid excuse to go off and be a hero on his own. Well whether he saw Harry again or not Ron was quite sure of one thing, if he got out of here alive his priority would be looking for Hermione, Horcruxes could wait.

Ron looked at his watch; it was getting on to nine o'clock. Witches and wizards would be arriving at the Ministry now. They would see the destroyed the Fountain of Magical Brethren and hear that Scrimgeour was dead and know a coup had taken place. Would Voldemort proclaim himself as Minister for Magic, would there be and uprising and a chill went through Ron's blood what about his father, what would happen to his dad?

Horrible images began to fill Ron's mind of dead bodies in the atrium above, of his father, mother, brothers and sister tortured and murdered. Ron tried desperately to think of something else but they swirled his head like an all-consuming fog.

The lift clanged to a halt and he heard footsteps run towards him. Dad, Harry, Hermione he thought wildly jumping up.

"Ron" Percy stood in front of him panting heavily "You're here?"

"Oh it's you" Ron said coldly at the sight of his older brother and sat back down on the bench

"Ron, look Scrimgeour's gone" Percy told him "They've put out this story that he's resigned but there's blood in his office and…"

"He's dead"

Percy went quite white and gulped visibly

"You know…how did you...never mind" Percy waved away "I think I can get you out of here but you'll have to cooperate with them"

"Cooperate with them…have you gone mad" Ron hissed somewhat taken aback, he knew Percy was a prat but this…

"I'm not saying you give up Potter, you couldn't do that even if you wanted to" Percy huffed "Thank Merlin Mum and Dad were sensible enough not to hide him, they already know that much from the guests and searching the Burrow." Ron's mind raced at this information, that meant Harry had got away, good, but what if they had found Hermione's Horcrux books or Mad Eye's polyjuice potion.

"Is everybody…?" he was almost too afraid to ask.

"Everyone's fine, I checked" Percy nodded firmly "Look Ron I don't know what's going on upstairs but I do know that whoever is in charge is not going to hurt a pure blood boy from one of the oldest wizarding families there is for no good reason. That said they know you know something so just give them something, anything about Potter and they'll let you go."

Ron snorted derisively "Not a chance"

"They'll get it out of you anyway" Percy said "I heard Runcorn say he's already ordered some Veritiserum."

Ron blanched "I don't care" he said more bravely than he felt. "They'll get nothing out of me"

"Ron, they will _kill_ you" Percy warned and Ron didn't care that there was an element of desperation in his voice

"So I will die" Ron replied simply.

oOoOoOo

Pain coursed through Hermione's body as she slowly opened her eyes hearing the distant sound of seagulls signalling that morning had come. There was some rough straw in the dungeon that Hermione had made her bed on last night and she could see a dull grey sky outside through a small hole high in the wall.

There was nothing covering the hole and cold sea air gushed in, Hermione shivered and curled up into herself wincing as she unconsciously rubbed one of the bruises that had formed overnight. Someone had come in during the night and had started fiddling about with her; Hermione had been too tired and too weak to attempt to stop them. Blearily she registered she was no longer wearing her bright lilac dress robes which had been replaced by a brown dress that was so short it was practically a shirt.

No! Hermione sat up and looked in alarm at her bare feet. Her dress, her shoes, _her bag_ were all gone she realised, all the books, Mad Eye's polyjuice potion, her money and everything else they had needed. She had put a concealing charm to make it appear as an ordinary bag on first glance inside but it wouldn't take an exceptionally powerful wizard to break it. Hermione cursed herself; she should have protected the bag better.

Then there was something that scared her even more, she had no idea where she was or who was holding her. The Death Eater behind the mask could have been anyone; the only Death Eater she could rule out was Lucius Malfoy as she would know that slimy obnoxious voice anywhere.

The dungeon door opened with a creak and an elf house which was smaller than Hermione had ever seen before brought in a tray of two slices bread and water.

"C…can I have my clothes back please?" Hermione ventured

The elf ignored her and left. Hermione looked at the meagre offerings, she was hungry and very tempted but until she knew who was holding her and why she decided it would not be wise to consume anything.

oOoOoOo

Harry woke up at around roughly ten o'clock to the sound of bacon sizzling over the small stove. The kitchen of the Den was so small that only one person at a time could fit in so Harry watched his former professor cook from the doorway.

"Sleep well?" Lupin asked.

"Not really" Harry shrugged trying not to think of the dream he had had.

"Right, stupid question" Lupin said letting taking out some bread to butter it with quick firm strokes. Harry heard retching, as though somebody was throwing up and looked around for the source of the noise "That's Tonks" Lupin said answering his unasked question.

"Is she ok?" Harry frowned.

"She'll be fine" Remus gave him a short smile as though he did not wish to discuss it further. He took the frying pan off the stove and lifted the greasy dripping bacon onto the buttered bread, squirted on some ketchup and made three sets of sandwiches.

Harry helped him carry them out to the living room and they sat down at the small table waiting for Tonks.

"I'm sorry I know it can be a bit unsettling down here with no windows" Remus apologised "Not knowing whether it's night or…"

"I need to get in touch with the Weasleys" Harry interrupted him "I need to see Hermione and we need to work out how to get Ron back."  
Lupin gave a heavy sigh "Not yet Harry."

"Why not yet?" Harry demanded, the truth was he was he felt like a coward; his friends could be in danger whilst he sat eating bacon sandwiches in a cosy little hidey-hole. They needed to get started on hunting Horcruxes; that was the only way to stop all this.

"The Weasleys will be under surveillance, it is too risky" Remus told him "_I_ will go in a few days once things have died down a bit."

"But if you're wanted too?" Harry questioned.

"I am much less important than you Harry" Remus held his hand up when Harry made to interrupt "I know this is frustrating but if we act now, we'll only put the Weasleys and Hermione in more danger."

"And Ron, do you really think they'll let him go?" Harry asked sceptically.

Remus avoided his eye "To be honest Harry I don't know" he admitted "But you charging into the Ministry won't solve anything, we need to be sensible about this and in the meantime I imagine Arthur will be moving giants to get his son back."

Harry did not like this approach; he wanted to do something _now_ but could not think of a good enough argument to battle Lupin's reason. Tonks came back into the room sniffing eagerly.

"Did you make bacon sarnies?" she grinned giving Remus a big kiss "My hero."

oOoOoOo

Hermione didn't know how long she lay in her cell for but she watched the shadow of the jug of water move a quarter of a circle and decided that it must be past midday. She stared vacantly at the stone blocks in front of her waiting just desperately waiting.

Eventually the door creaked open and the miniature house elf entered and looked disinterestedly at the uneaten bread and water "Master will see you now" it announced in an oddly croaky voice.

All of a sudden all of the fear she had felt last night came back to her. No! She could not see him again, she would rather stay hungry and cold and ignorant in this cell than be near him again. Hermione backed away, pushing herself as far into the wall as she could but the house elf merely placed a small grey clammy hand on her shoulder and they Disapparated.

She reappeared in what looked to be a study. It was a stone circular room with a large desk and several books at any rate. Hermione blinked rapidly as light from the large windows looking out to the sea flooded her retina. There were a few portraits that muttered at her and an angry looking Great Horned Owl narrowed its eyes at her from its perch next to the desk.

"That will be all" a gravelly voice said and Hermione flinched back as she noticed the Death Eater was standing over her. The house elf Disapparated with a crack and Hermione scrambled across the floor away from _him_.

He was a great beast of a man who looming over her looked to be almost as large as Hagrid. Now hoodless Hermione saw he had stringy dark hair and a great balding spot. His features were ugly and rough but there was something familiar about his flat nose and beady eyes that Hermione couldn't quite place, whoever he was she was sure she didn't recognise him.

"Get up girl" he demanded grabbing her hair and pulling her up by her roots "Let's have a look at yer"

Hermione felt her skin crawl as he leered at her looking up and down her body with a dull smirk. He turned away from her and poured a glass of what looked like firewhiskey "What's your name girl?"

Hermione's heart raced, he didn't know who she was…that was well…good.

"M…Maud" she stuttered and began to think very quickly.

"Maud what?" the Death Eater demanded sitting down in a chair by the fire glugging down his drink and pouring another.

Hermione looked down at the faded green carpet and kept silent.

"Tell me yer name girl" he growled at her almost as though he were a bear "Or you'll get what I gave yer last night."

Hermione flinched back "We..Weasley" she whispered.

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously "Yer one of Arthur Weasley's brats?" he said "Yer don't look like a Weasley"

Hermione shook her head still looking at the floor, in part she wanted to emphasise her terror but she also didn't want to give the man the opportunity to test out his legilimancy on her. "He's my uncle" she said quietly "I look like my mother."

"And who's she when she's at home? Who's yer father"

"Dodus and Fiona Weasley" Hermione mumbled the names of Ron's aunt and uncle hoping there was a good reason why people didn't talk too much about Ron's largely anonymous uncles.

The man grunted "Never heard of them" he tipped back his head and drained his glass in one go "My name's Crabbe girl ever heard of me?"

It took all Hermione had not to give a reaction to this revelation. He didn't know who she was but one word from his son and he would do, the only bright news was the possibility he might be as stupid as his son.

"No"

"No?" Mr Crabbe repeated incredulously "Well yer lucky girl, yer standing in one of the greatest seats of magical power in the country."

She remembered the image of the crumbling castle on her arrival and briefly wondered how Lucius Malfoy would react to such a statement.

"I've a son your age" Mr Crabbe told her "Yer did go to Hogwarts didn't you?"

"N…Y…Yes" Hermione stuttered.

Mr Crabbe narrowed his eyes pulling himself out of his chair stalking towards her "What do yer mean by that girl?" he said and Hermione did not have to fake flinching back away from his rancid breath and the horrible memories of last night "Either yer were at Hogwarts or yer weren't?"

"I…I didn't go" Hermione whimpered, the tears that fell from her eyes fell naturally.

"Why didn't yer go to Hogwarts girl?" Mr Crabbe demanded "Come on girl answer me!"

She said nothing staring resolutely at the carpet, _come on,_ she thought _figure it out_.

A slow grin stretched over the Death Eater's face "Yer a squib ain't yer? Ain't yer?"

"Yes" Hermione whimpered trying to choke out as many tears as she could. It was not a difficult task.

Mr Crabbe threw back his head and let a roar of laughter "A squib! A fucking squib!" he shouted grinning wildly "No-one's going to come looking for you are they?"

Hermione shook her head. Even if Harry and Ron found out where she was she didn't want them coming looking for her. Let him think she was unimportant; the least attention Hermione could draw to herself the better.

"Well it looks like I've hit the fucking jackpot, haven't I girl?" Mr Crabbe grinned raising a glass and flopping back into his wing backed chair by the fire.

"P…please don't tell anyone I stole that wand" Hermione ventured in a begging tone

Mr Crabbe chuckled "Don't worry I won't" he smirked "As long as you keep me happy of course"

Hermione shivered at his lascivious look. He tapped his foot on the floor "Come 'ere"

Bile formed in her throat and she struggled to force it down as she slowly stood before him. He grabbed her shoulder and shoved her to the floor so she was kneeling in front of him. He unlaced the front of his trousers and said "Now let's see if you can make me really happy."

oOoOoOo

"Well Mr Weasley shall we try again?" Runcorn sighed "Where is Potter?"

Ron shrugged again "Told you, I don't know"

Runcorn wore a grim smile and summoned a flask of butterbeer; he poured a glass and slid it towards Ron. Ron remembering Percy's previous words stared straight ahead not touching it.

"Your father was quite a state when he heard about your arrest, the fool even tried to break into the lower levels of the Ministry to rescue you" Runcorn told him cooly "He's under house arrest now, I do hope you're not going to make things more difficult for him."

Ron tried to keep a neutral expression.

"We have no desire to send a pure blood wizard to Azkaban Ronald" Runcorn continued "All you need do to protect yourself and your father is to give me a little bit of information about Potter. So you don't know where he is, fine. What is he up to?"

"I don't know" Ron pronounced very slowly and deliberately.

Runcorn grimaced "Take some butterbeer why don't you?"

"I'm not thirsty"

"Well I can hardly believe that, we've not fed you since you arrive here" Runcorn said politely before adding more forcefully "Take a sip"

Ron didn't move.

Runcorn gave an irritated sigh and flicked his wand muttering "Imperio"

All of a sudden Ron felt like he was floating on a cloud, all the aches from the hard cell and the hunger he had felt earlier had disappeared. Instead he felt a peaceful sensation running through him coupled with the only desire to have a nice warm refreshing glass of butterbeer.

_No_ a small voice at the back of his head whispered _fight it, remember what Moody taught you._ But it was no use, Ron never had been able to throw off the Imperius Curse in his fourth year and so it was with horror when then curse was lifted that he saw he had drained the whole glass and Runcorn was smiling evilly across from him.

Ron panicked and did the only thing he could think of which was to jump up out of the chair and run. Runcorn was too quick for him however and thick ropes shot from out of his wand binding Ron tightly back down to the chair.

"Now we're getting somewhere" Runcorn said with satisfaction "Where is Potter, Mr Weasley?"

"I don't know" Ron said truthfully all the while thinking _fight this, fight this._

Runcorn scribbled something down on the parchment in front of him.

"And what is Potter up to?"

"He…I don't know" Ron said almost as startled as Runcorn from the words that had just come from his lips. That was impossible. Ron could sing, he must have been the luckiest person in the world – the Veritiserum was a dud.

"Where was the last place you saw Potter?"

"School" Ron said happily

Runcorn visibly gritted his teeth "Who are the members of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Never heard of it"

"Shunpike!" Runcorn yelled and the spotty youth poked his head through the door of the office "Get me Umbridge!"

A cold shiver went through Ron's body, he had no idea what Umbridge would do with him but he was quite sure it couldn't be anything good.

Soon enough he heard the clap of heels in the corridor outside and the office door opened. Ron fixated his stare on his hands; he wasn't going to look at that toad if he could help it.

"Hem hem" Umbridge gave one of her annoying girlish coughs "You wanted to see me Albert."

"Yes you've just wasted my entire day, this boy doesn't know anything" Runcorn accused "He's just one of Potter's sycophants."

Umbridge gave an annoying girlish laugh "I can hardly believe that" she trilled "Mr Weasley and Mr Potter were joined at the hip as I recall"

"Well whatever they were they aren't now" Runcorn said angrily "He's just admitted as much under Veritiserum."

"Oh I wouldn't put much faith in Snape's truth serums" Umbridge dismissed, her high pitched voice was like nails on a chalkboard to Ron and his glare on his nails clasping his knuckles intensified "They never worked much when I used them, I believe Dumbledore only gave Snape out of misguided strategy rather than any actual talent"

Ron tried not to frown, that didn't make sense, whatever Snape was he was an extremely good potions master. Ron was clearly _very_ lucky.

"Weasley!" Umbridge said sharply "Who founded the illegal organisation known as Dumbledore's Army?"

"Uh…" Ron hesitated trying to think quickly what would be the best answer to this question.

"You see" Umbridge sang triumphantly "If Weasley really were under Veritiserum he would have answered straight way. People who are under mind controlling substances do not umm and err."

Ron cursed himself.

"What am I supposed to do with him now?" Runcorn demanded "I thought you wanted all the cells free. We won't be able to get any more Veritiserum for weeks."

"Oh I think we'll always have room for Mr Weasley" Umbridge said with a sickly sweet tone "Besides I have some guests arriving tonight, they ought to loosen his tongue."

Ron screamed that night. He saw his Uncle Bilius lying in a hospital bed at St Mungos, Hermione walk into the Great Hall with Krum; hundreds of Slytherins chant 'Weasley is our King'. Ice coursed through his veins as he saw Hermione again this time petrified in the Hospital Wing, George bloodied, Dumbledore's coffin by the Great Lake, Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets and Hermione once more being taken away by the unknown Death Eater.

Outside his cell two dementors glided up and down the corridor feasting gluttonously on the misery within.

**Please read and review and let me know what you think of the story so far**


	4. News At Last

"Are you sure you're all right?" Harry asked two days later as Tonks emerged from the bathroom after dashing out a few moments ago when Harry had opened a packet of vinegar crisps.

"I'm fine" Tonks dismissed looking rather pale and distinctly relieved when she noticed Harry had put the smelly crisps away

Harry looked at her sceptically, now that he thought about it Tonks had looked a little more drawn than she had done when she and Lupin had arrived at Privet Drive earlier in the month.

To his surprise she grinned at his expression "We did want to tell you together, once I was a bit further along but well…" she put her hand to her stomach "Remus and I are going to have a baby"

Harry's eyes widened considerably as he tried to think of something to say "That's…" he spluttered.

"Reckless, dangerous, irresponsible… highly impractical given the circumstances" Tonks offered with a large smile of her face.

"Wonderful" Harry said firmly "Congratulations"

"Thanks" Tonks grinned "I won't say it was planned but I have to admit I am quite excited." She shook her head grinning stupidly "Can you imagine me with a baby? I'll probably drop it."

"Don't be silly" Harry said "You and Remus will be amazing parents" he said confidently. Tonks' eyes shone warmly at this statement.

There was a noise that came up above them as the tree trunk door opened. The mood changed instantly as Harry and Tonks leapt to their feet with their wands out; there were two sets of footsteps coming down the staircase. _Hermione_ Harry thought happily.

There was a sharp rap on the door and they heard Lupin's voice "Nymphadora, what was the first thing I ever said to you?"

Tonks smiled "'Mind the Troll's Leg, what happened next?"

There was a short silence and then Lupin "You tripped anyway and then I caught you" Harry noted with some shock that he almost sounded bashful.

Tonks said an unlocking charm and the door opened to reveal Lupinbut instead of Hermione he was accompanied by a middle aged tubby man Harry had met only once before.

"Dad!" Tonks cried and ran over to hug her father.

"Hello pumpkin" Ted Tonks said holding his daughter close

"I thought he would be more comfortable here than roaming the countryside" Lupin said

"Yes I'm afraid building an underground hideout never occurred to me but I suppose Remus has to think about these things when he's well…you know" Mr Tonks smiled although Harry noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes.

There was an awkward silence before Tonks said "Come on Dad, I'll show you your room, I'm afraid you're in with Harry."

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked as soon as the Tonks and Ted had left the room.

Lupin's face fell "Sit down Harry"

"She's dead isn't she?" Harry hoarsely voiced his worst fear begging Lupin to contradict him.

"I don't know" Lupin admitted

A sharp pain hit Harry in his chest and he staggered back a step, "Well what do you know?" he demanded

"Sit down and I will tell you" Lupin told him forcefully and for a moment Harry felt as though he was back in his third year Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

"I'm sorry Harry" Lupin said rubbing his temple "I'm afraid you're not the only one who finds this frustrating. Please sit, once Nymphadora and her father come back I'll tell you everything."

Tonks and her father did not take long, after all it was a very small dwelling and all they had had to do was move Harry's bed to the left and transfigure a spare pillow into another twin bed. They all sat down in front of the fire and Lupin began his tale.

"I went to Kingsley first, with Mad-Eye gone, Kingsley has now become the defacto Head of the Order and he had previously let me know where I could find him if we ever had to go 'underground' so to speak" Harry noticed Lupin did not say where Kingsley was "From what Kingsley discovered the night of Scrimgeour's murder and from those still in the Ministry we now know it is in the hands of the Death Eaters, the new Minister for Magic is a man called Pius Thickness who we strongly believe to be under the Imperius Curse from You Know Who. The most important thing however is that we can no longer use You Know Who's name" he told them

Harry frowned "We can't call him Vol…"

"Harry" Lupin hissed in warning before telling him "You must not say the name, somehow the Death Eaters have found a way to make it taboo."

"What does that mean when it's at home" Mr Tonks asked "Not that I'm about to spout off You Know Who's name"

"It means if you say the name it will break all magical enchantments, the Fidelus charm, the concealing charms hiding this place will be useless right Remus?" Tonks said and her husband nodded.

"It also casts an anti-disapparation jinx in an attempt to trap the witch or wizard. They almost caught Kingsley and I," Lupin said "Luckily we got away in time. He's in hiding now as are the Weasleys."

Harry took an intake of breath at this news.

"Arthur tried to free Ron but he was spotted before he could get down to the holding cells, they didn't capture him but it has forced he and the family to go into hiding." Lupin said "I can't tell you where as I am not the secret keeper for their location."

"What about Ron?" Harry asked desperate for news.

"Well he is at the Ministry as we suspected. They took several wedding guests, most of whom were released once it became clear they did not know anything but Ron they are keeping; whether for information or as bait for you Harry we're not sure" Lupin told him "From what we have heard Ron doesn't appear to have told them anything and doesn't intend to."

Harry bristled at the implication that would be a possibility "And Hermione?" he said through gritted teeth.

There was a long pause "We don't know where she is. I'm sorry Harry it appears she was taken at the wedding as well but certainly not to the Ministry" he said gravely "The Weasleys thought she was with us…nobody's heard from her."

Harry gripped his hands very hard and got up striding towards the front door. "Harry where are you going?" Tonks asked in alarm.

"To the Ministry" he said shortly

"Harry!" Lupin stopped him by grabbing his arm "You cannot go marching into the Ministry, don't you see that's just what they want you to do. They have accused you of Dumbledore's murder, every witch and wizard in the land has been told you are Undesirable Number One. There is a price on your head!"

"I don't care!" Harry shouted "I've already lost Hermione; I'm not losing Ron too!"

"And how do you propose to get him?" Lupin shot back "You have no idea where they are keeping him, what the new security measures on the Ministry are, you can't just go into the telephone box anymore and announce your name."

"I'll…I'll think of something" Harry said "I've got my wand and invisibility cloak, I don't need anything else."

"Yes you do, please think about this Harry" Lupin begged "I'm not going to let you get yourself killed!"

"I can't leave him there" Harry protested

Lupin placed both his hands on Harry's shoulders and stared at him straight in the eyes "I told you we will get Ron back and we will" he said forcefully "But you have to trust me, let me find out more information, give us time to form a plan and I promise I will go with you to rescue Ron."

Harry reluctantly nodded.

oOoOoOo

Hermione lay shivering in the dark cell of Crabbe Castle. Since her first day she had not left it. The voiceless house elf who brought her food and Mr Crabbe who brought a whole new kind of pain were her only visitors

She pressed her legs together in a defensive mechanism and because she didn't want to see the dried blood on her inner thighs. She would wash it off but it was so rare that the house elf would bring water that Hermione could not help but drain every last drop to relieve her parched throat.

Over and over in her mind she tried to look for a way to escape. The door looked to be a foot thick with a great iron lock and the small hole in the wall opened out to a sharp drop straight down to waves crashing at the jagged rocks below. She remembered in The Count of Monte Cristo when Dantes had tunnelled to his neighbour's cell in his quest for freedom. But Hermione had no tools, no strength and no time, it couldn't be long before Crabbe found out she was here and told his father who she really was.

Hermione wondered if they would bring her directly before Voldemort or if somebody else would torture her for information. She certainly knew a lot about Harry but would she be considered important enough. She would need to avoid going in front of him at all costs; Hermione had played around a little with Occlumency but would undoubtedly be hopeless against a real Legilems.

If it came to it Hermione decided she would have to provoke Mr Crabbe into killing her first. She was quite surprised at the ease at which she made this decision, of course she had been prepared to die for Harry for a long time, almost since first year in fact but now it wasn't just a possibility it was an almost certainty.

She just hoped she was dead before any information about Ron, Harry or the horcruxes escaped her mind. Ron and Harry would find them she reassured herself, they would find them and destroy them and this would all be over. She hoped they would visit her grave.

oOoOoOo

"_Crucio_" a gravelly voice shouted out from above him.

A thousand hot knives pierced Ron's skin at once and he screamed out, sweat and tears pooling on the floor as he writhed in agony.

"I'll ask you again Mr Weasley, what do you know of Potter and the Order?" Runcorn's false politeness had long since evaporated as he questioned Ron for the fifth day in a row, the third since he had started using the Cruciatus Curse. They were in Runcorn's office on Level 2 of the Ministry and all Ron could think was why didn't somebody help him?

"Mr Weasley" Runcorn warned.

Ron lay panting on the marble floor biting his tongue until it bled. Let them try and get anything out of me he thought with a sudden savagery, _just let them try_.

"Once more time then" Runcorn spat in irritation "_Crucio_"

Ron opened his mouth but his senses were so dulled he could not tell if he was actually screaming or not. It felt as if every bone in his body was breaking and somebody was running a red hot poker under his skin.

Death he thought with comfort, maybe that would come soon…or madness. In his more lucid moments Ron wondered about Neville's parents and how long they may have lasted, if he was very lucky he might join them soon.

That would be convenient for Neville Ron had thought in dark humour, he could visit both parties in one go.

Someone was lifting him off the floor Ron registered and he heard muffled voices as though they were coming from the inside of a padded room. Dully he realised he was being dragged back to the lift.

Somebody, Stan, or Flint maybe, levitated his body back to his cell and closed the door with a muffled clang. Blurry shapes floated in front of his eyes as he tried to regain his vision. Every muscle in his body cried out for death and soon he felt the coldness of fear as the dementors passed him in their patrol.

Saving him the agony of sinking into his own misery Ron instead sank into unconsciousness.

At some point during the night Ron dreamt of silver light that lifted the coldness. "'Ermione" he croaked as cool liquid was poured into his mouth alleviating the aches in his weary body.

"Love you Hermione" Ron murmured not registering that the dream like phantom had placed something in his jean pocket and he closed his eyes as the silver glow left and the frost of the dementors returned.

**So not the happiest chapter but things do get better I promise. Draco Malfoy will make his first appearance in the next chapter.**

**Please review and let me know your thoughts, I'd really like to know what you think of the story so far - thanks**


	5. Unwelcome Visitors

The sky was a sharp blue and Hermione could hear seagulls squawking from outside the dungeons. Listlessly she scratched into the stone rock her head rested against as she leaned back against the wall.

She had carved out a distinctive 'W' however with no tools her fingernails had become dull and bloodied at the exercise and she wondered if she would have to wait for them to grow back before she could graffiti 'Weasley' in full into the rock of Crabbe Castle. She was not the only person to have carved into the rock; other prisoners appeared to have left names and messages and on her fourth day there Hermione had discovered the Lord's Prayer had been etched into a corner of her cell.

Hermione was not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination and her parents had only gone to church at Christmas but the prayer gave her comfort as she read lines written by somebody who had suffered as she had. That was until she began to think about what must have happened to somebody muggle enough to know the words.

She heard a door slam, somebody was entering the dungeons she realised with alarm and she snapped her legs together curling up into a little ball. What was going on she thought, Crabbe always turned up in the night, usually smelling strongly of drink before he took her.

Hermione strained her ears as the voices got closer; she could hear the gravelly tones of Mr Crabbe.

"…more responsibility now the Dark Lord has won" Mr Crabbe was saying "The Malfoys are losing favour fast so you can stop skulking about behind that poncy brat of theirs, its time this family took back some of its glory instead of doing the work whilst others get the credit. Got it boy?"

"Yes sir" Hermione's mind raced, she knew that voice, it was Vincent Crabbe's.

"Now I've got something to show yer" Mr Crabbe said "Call it an incentive if you will"

The door swung open and Hermione grabbed her knees up to her chest and pressed her forehead down against them so that her face was entirely concealed by her legs and bushy hair.

"I picked her up from the Weasley wedding, she's a squib" Mr Crabbe said "not much to look at mind you but she'll do for now."

"Bloody hell" Crabbe replied sounding impressed "And they just let you take her?"

"I told you Vincent, things are going to be different now." Mr Crabbe told him importantly "We're Crabbes. We don't need fucking permission to take what we want, 'specially if it's just some squib."

"Can I have a look at her? A real look?" Crabbe asked, there was something almost slimy in his voice as he spoke.

His father grunted reluctantly "Yer'll not touch her until you've proved yerself worthy of being a Crabbe" he said gruffly and suddenly. Hermione's scalp was pulled back painfully by the roots of her hair as she was forced to look at Vincent Crabbe straight in the eye.

There was no doubt, his beady eyes shone in recognition.

oOoOoOo

"_Crucio_" Runcorn said sounding extremely bored.

Ron screamed out, his body jerking with spasms of pain on Runcorn's office floor. There was a sharp rap on the door and heavy black boots entered Ron's line of vision. Today's torture had not gone on long enough for Ron's senses to become so dulled that he could not see or hear who had entered.

"Yaxley, good of you to finally drop by" Runcorn told the brutish looking Death Eater whose blond hair was tied behind his back in a long plait. "I presume Umbridge has told you we're wasting our time with this one, if he's knows anything he's not saying."

_Yes finally_ Ron prayed, they might kill him at last.

Yaxley frowned at him "Well you'll certainly never get any information out of him like that Albert" he scoffed "Your wand movements are all wrong, try and extend your arm more in future."

Runcorn snorted perturbed "You have a go then."

"_Crucio_"

Ron spasmed wildly on the floor, fresh agony that he had never felt before tore at his insides as though he were being burned alive and he screamed once more. And then it was over.

"That is how you perform a Cruciatus curse" Yaxley informed Runcorn and his voice had become quite muffled to Ron's ears.

"Well it wasn't that effective, he's still not saying anything" Runcorn pointed out sounding disgruntled.

"Yes, well not all doors can be opened by a battering ram" Yaxley drawled and Ron suddenly had a horrible sense of foreboding as Yaxley cried "_Legilimens_"

Ron felt a great tug from somewhere behind his navel and he felt himself hurtling along through space until he suddenly landed on a ratty old bed in a drab grey room. At first Ron thought he must have fallen inside his own memories until he realised Yaxley was no longer there and he had certainly no memories of this room.

He noticed a shimmer of blue light die out of the corner of his eye and pulled from his pocket a dull green marble. He dropped it and as the aftereffects of the Cruciatus curse washed over him the portkey clattered to the floor and rolled underneath an old fashioned chest of drawers.

oOoOoOo

The atmosphere in the Den over the past few days had been distinctly frosty. Harry knew logically that Lupin was not responsible for Ron's capture or Hermione's disappearance yet he had nevertheless grown a deep resentment for the man and avoided spending as much time as possible in his company. He was only now in the living room because Lupin had left to meet other Order members to gather information, it did not help his cause that he insisted on doing this alone making Harry feel like a pathetic coward.

Harry also noticed that Ted Tonks did not appear to be overly enthralled with his new son in law either although for the life of him Harry had no idea why. The two men maintained an excessive politeness with each other that suggested given different circumstances they would not be shut up together in a small hole in the ground. Ted who apparently didn't want to disturb Harry and who had also taken to avoiding Lupin had started go out every morning to fish at a nearby stream.

Tonks meanwhile appeared to have overloaded on good cheer but there was something forced in her wide smile and twinkling eyes that suggested she was beginning to feel the strain of being in the middle of three wizards' unspoken dislike of one another. Right now she was attempting to knit a jumper on the sofa next to Harry whilst glancing at the door waiting for the return of her husband or father every two minutes. The jumper she was making looked more like something Crookshanks would cough up.

Harry almost winced, he didn't like thinking about Crookshanks because it made him think about Hermione. If they had only left her in that bathroom in first year she's be fine now, she could be in Australia right now soaking up the sun with her mum and dad. But no Harry had charged ahead playing the hero and gone and locked that troll in the bathroom with her and ever since then he had been putting her in danger. She had almost been killed when she followed him to the Department of Mysteries in Fifth Year and now it looked like she had paid the ultimate price for knowing him, as Sirius, Cedric, his parents and Dumbledore had done before her.

Well it would not happen again Harry thought angrily not realising that he was silently crying, he would rescue Ron, make sure he was safely hidden with the Weasleys and then head off after the horcruxes by himself. Nobody else would die for him.

"Oh Harry" Tonks sighed, she had noticed he was crying "It'll be alright, Remus will get Ron back and Hermione will..." she trailed off not able to finish the comforting thought and looked back at her jumper awkwardly.

"Hey Tonks" Harry said wanting to think about anything else for a moment than Ron and Hermione "If you had some initials, how would you find out who's they were."

Tonks bit her lip thinking for moment "Well if I still were at the Ministry I would check the archives, they have every witch and wizard registered in the country but I guess that's not really an option anymore"

"No" Harry said glumly wishing he had started out on this search before Scrimgeour's murder.

"There are always graveyards I suppose, they generally show somebody's full name, both St Mungos and Hogwarts have records and you can always look in the Daily Prophet. People are always in the classifieds trying to flog their broken cauldron or buy a new broomstick" she suggested.

"I guess" Harry sounded disheartened; he suspected R.A.B. wasn't the type of wizard to sell a broken cauldrons through a newspaper ad.

"Course if the person I was looking for was mixed up on this lot" Tonks said speculatively with a knowing gleam "I might ask an auror, well ex-auror I suppose now"

Harry thought about his promise to Dumbledore "I can't" he said mournfully, although it was tempting.

"Fair enough" Tonks said confidently "I guess I am smart enough to guess the entire plan from some initials"

Far from being irritated at her it made Harry a little lighter to be joked with again.

Tonks put down her knitting and looked at him seriously "If I were in your shoes I wouldn't tell me what Dumbledore said either" she said "But I don't see any harm in getting a little help, especially if it is only some initials"

Harry thought about this for a moment, in reality Dumbledore hadn't actually told him anything about R.A.B.

"Come on Harry I'm knitting here for Merlin's sake" she begged him "Please let me be useful"

"OK" Harry said eventually "Have you ever heard of anyone who might go under the initials R.A.B.?"

"R.A.B., R.A.B..." Tonks muttered to herself looking upwards "Ugh there was a Rebecca Annabel Bolster in my year at Hogwarts, horrible girl, used to dip my hair in her inkwell. I think she ended up working for Gladrags in Hogsmeade."

"Anyone else" Harry said hopefully, looking for someone a bit darker than a spiteful shop assistant.

"Sorry" Tonks shook her head.

"Well it was a long shot" Harry admitted and got up to make some tea "Are you ok for custard creams?" he asked spooning a lump of sugar into two mugs and putting the water on the boil. He made sure to vanish the steam once it had boiled so as not to overheat the Den before he realised that Tonks had still not answered him.

She was staring into space contemplating something "Of course" she said very slowly "There was always Sirius's little brother but he died years ago."

Regulus Black, oh it was so obvious why hadn't Harry thought of it before? Regulus had been a Death Eater, he would have had access to Voldemort, he might have discovered Riddle's secret. It didn't matter that he had been dead, the fake locket could have lain in the cave for decades unchecked, in fact that might have been how Regulus had died. Harry concealed an uncomfortable shudder as he brought the tea back to Tonks and imagined a Sirius look alike being dragged under the water by the demonic Inferi.

"Did Regulus's middle name begin with an A then?" Harry asked trying to sound casual.

Tonks thought and then nodded confidently "Yep, yes I'm sure it did" she said "Regulus Arcturus Black, it said so on his bedroom door back at Grimmauld Place, I remember because Sirius got really angry when Remus and I slipped in there once to..."

She blushed and stopped talking "Whatever Sirius's problems were with his family, he loved his brother" she added quietly.

"How did he die?" Harry asked quietly "Sirius said he was murdered when he tried to leave the Death Eaters."

Tonks shrugged "It's a good a guess as any, he just stopped turning up to meetings and soon after his mother announced he was dead with no further explanation" she said "Sirius didn't find out until a couple of years later and Mum didn't know until Sirius told her. Of course all that information at the time came from the new spy for the Order – Snape."

"So it's pretty much a pack of lies then" Harry said bitterly

"I don't know" Tonks said "I mean he can't have lied about everything or he would have got caught."

"People don't just disappear though and no one goes looking for them"

"It happens a lot in war Harry, people just don't like to talk about it" Tonks said "I was only a kid at the time but I remember how many times Mum or Dad would come home to say so and so's disappeared."

"And you never heard from them again?" Harry asked with dread, he was no longer thinking about Regulus.

Tonks looked at him firmly "Let me tell you something Harry Potter, I bet my broomstick that you're going to see Hermione again" she said forcefully "She's not some naïve little boy who got in over his head like Regulus. That girl is too clever by half to simply vanish into thin air."

Harry appreciated the words of comfort but they did not have much of the desired effect. He remembered when Hermione had been petrified in their second year and still managed to aid Harry and Ron in finding and defeating the Basilisk. Maybe it was unreasonable but he couldn't help feeling that if she were still alive she would have found a way back by now.

oOoOoOo

Hermione's knees and hands scraped painfully against the cold dungeon stone as Mr Crabbe thrusted into her forcefully. Some men liked to start the day with a full English breakfast or early morning run, Mr Crabbe it seems liked to break the mourns raping Hermione.

He finished with a grunt and she collapsed onto the floor as she heard the heavy dungeon door clang behind him. She lifted herself up and threw her body against the iron door on desperation achieving nothing but new bruising.

Hermione curled up in a little ball and tried to go back to sleep. Lately she had taken to replaying memories in her head as a coping mechanism. As the mute house elf brought her breakfast forty minutes later she was heavily glazed over thing about the summer before the fourth year at the Burrow, the last truly worry free time they had had, playing quidditch in the orchard and degnoming the garden for Mrs Weasley.

It was hard to tell how time past in the dungeon but she could guess at rough times by the position of the sun in the sky outside the small hole high up in her outside wall. It was therefore just past noon when she heard voices come again.

"Just wait till you see what father got." she heard a gruff stupid voice say.

Hermione recoiled in horror as the iron door was heaved open and a blue wand light shone in revealing Crabbe, Goyle and Draco Malfoy.

"It's Granger" Crabbe announced proudly.

Goyle stood there stupidly grinning but it was hard to tell who was more shocked at seeing each other Hermione or Malfoy.

"What's she's doing here?" he demanded at once although Hermione was sure that there was a faint note of panic in his voice.

"What do you think?" Crabbe scoffed "She's the spoils of victory" he walked over to her and gave her a kick at her side "Get up Granger so we can take a better look at you"

Tremulously Hermione got to her feet; she was fairly weak and had not stood upright in several days so she swayed lightly on the spot.

"Not so clever after all are you mudblood" Crabbe jeered and returned back to his friends "Father says I can have her once I've proved myself, bet you wished Lucius had got her first don't you?"

Malfoy gave an arrogant sniff "There's not much to look at" he said giving Hermione a derisive look over "I'd prefer the Weasley girl" Hermione was not so weak that her blood did not boil at this statement, Malfoy would take Ginny over her dead body. "Fucking that would be like fucking a hag wouldn't it?"

"You're just jealous" Crabbe scorned "Everyone knows you've always wanted to take Granger."

"Why would I want a filthy mudblood?" Malfoy argued back "I like my girls clean thank you very much."

"Vincent" Goyle spoke up at last "How come your allowed to keep her" and then Hermione was truly shocked when she heard something vaguely sensible come from his mouth "She's Potter's mate - wouldn't _he_ want to integrate her?"

Crabbe bristled "He can just as soon as I'm done with her" he said although Hermione noticed that he did not sound overly confident "Besides father thinks she's a squib so no one else is going to find out."

"But...if someone finds out" Goyle protested.

"Shut up Goyle" Malfoy snapped "There's no point in telling anyone now, besides it's not like Potter will have told her anything, don't you remember he cast her over for that Weasley girl last year"

Goyle thought about this very hard and it was as though Hermione was looking at a gorilla trying to do trigonometry.

"I guess..." he said eventually.

"We might as well keep her." Malfoy sneered.

Crabbe snorted "Just so long as you remember there is no _we_ about it. _My_ dad got her Malfoy."

"Whatever I'm sick of looking at this mudblood" Malfoy said scornfully "Let's go play quidditch"

The iron door clanged once more as they left and Hermione collapsed into a sitting position. She wasn't frightened as she was confused; Malfoy had told them to go along with the squib story. Crabbe and Goyle she could understand but surely Draco Malfoy knew what would happen if they were caught hiding her identity.

oOoOoOo

Tonks was pacing up and down the small living room of the Den. Lupin was still not back and it was getting on to midnight. Ted had long since gone to bed whilst Harry was idly leafing through the books Lupin kept wondering which ones to take when they finally got back Ron.

He was just wondering whether they would ever have need for _An Insider's Guide to Mer Peoples and their Practices_ when they heard the trunk door open and a set of weary footsteps clunk down towards them. Tonks ran to the door and threw it open to hug Lupin forcefully on the threshold. Harry got up torn between a desire to leave Lupin's company and a thirst for any news he might bring.

"For goodness sake Nymphadora" Lupin wrenched out of her hold "I could be anybody"

Tonks flinched back clearly hurt "Fine" she spat "What's your favourite breakfast cereal?"

"I don't like cereal I prefer porridge" Lupin repeated dully collapsing into a chair by the fire and resting his head in his hands, he did not look good.

"Aren't you going to ask me my question?" Tonks demanded.

"I don't need to. Your hair has gone red, it always go red when you're angry." Lupin replied listlessly.

Harry noticed that he was not looking any of them in the eye "What's happened now?" he asked coolly.

"Sit down Harry" Lupin said

"I'm fine here thanks all the same"

"Oh for goodness sake, stop being all misunderstood and sit down" Tonks huffed and pulled him down onto the sofa next to her.

Lupin was silent for several long moments and Harry's anger gave way to dread when he realised something awful had happened.

"Ron has been taken from the Ministry" Lupin eventually said.

"What?" Harry asked feeling his anger flare up again "Where, by whom?"

"We don't know" Lupin admitted "According to one of our spies in the Ministry he simply vanished during an interrogation, portkey probably. And we have no idea who gave it to him or where it has taken him."

Harry got up from the sofa walked towards the fire gripping his fists painfully.

"Maybe it's a trick" Tonks suggested "They want to play mind games with him or keep him out the way and send a polyjuiced spy back to us in his stead."

"It's a possibility" Lupin admitted "Whoever carried it out certainly didn't tell Runcorn or Yaxley at any rate. By all accounts they nearly came to blows over it in Runcorn's office, our spy heard them arguing"

Harry looked into the flames thinking darkly, if he had only gone sooner, if he had only ignored Lupin.

"Now Harry I know that you must be in pain right now but..."Lupin started.

"No you don't know" Harry interrupted turning around to face Lupin "Everyone you care about it is nice and safe so don't pretend like you know how I feel."

"I've lost friends too remember" Lupin said coolly

"Ron and Hermione weren't my friends they were my family" Harry said angrily "I wanted to go days ago but you said we had to wait"

"I know Harry and I can't begin to tell you how sorry..."

"I DON'T CARE HOW SORRY YOU ARE" Harry yelled "If it weren't for you Ron would be here right now, Hermione too probably"

"Harry please calm down" Tonks interjected firmly. "Let's think about this."

"I have been doing nothing but thinking for days" Harry shouted rounding on Lupin once more, too angry to notice how wretched his former professor looked "Last week you said if I was a good little boy and sat quiet and didn't do anything Ron and Hermione would come back. Well they're not coming back and I'm done with being a good boy."

He stormed out of the room and into his bedroom not caring in the least if he woke Ted Tonks. He threw all the clothes Lupin had brought from Mrs Weasley into a bag and sat on his bed staring into the darkness and waiting for the Lupins to go to bed.

oOoOoOo

It had been a couple of days since Ron had vanished from the Ministry of Magic and reappeared in the drab bedroom and he still did not know where he was.

From what he could tell looking out the window he was in a muggle neighbourhood and not a particularly nice one at that. Tightly packed gardens barely more than a few feet in length dotted below his windows and he could see the house he was in was one of many all squashed together in a row. He knew it was muggle from the clothes hung on lines waiting for the wind to dry them rather than a good drying charm and he could see the glow of tiny people moving about in those vellytision sets Harry and his dad had told him about in the house opposite. Behind the row of gardens and houses Ron could crane his neck to see a very tall wide chimney sprouting from the terraced houses.

Ron walked around the room, although there was nothing else to do even looking out the window became boring after a while especially after the sun had set hours ago and all the muggles had retreated back into their houses and closed their curtains. He was feeling much better since his arrival and it took him too long to work out that the food being sent to him magically on his desk every night must contain healing potions.

Although Ron was very grateful for the absence of dementors and the ability to walk on his own two feet again he couldn't help but worry he was in more danger than ever before. After all could somebody who fed and healed him yet kept him locked up without even speaking to him really have his best interests at heart? More than once he wondered whether this was just another tactic the Death Eaters were using to try to get information out of him.

Ron lay back on the bed and thought about Harry and Hermione and what they were doing now. He thought about his family and hoped that they had the good sense to go into hiding rather than languish under Ministry house arrest.

He also, and this was a thought he had not expected, really wanted a wash. He was still in the same shirt and trousers he had worn at the wedding almost two weeks ago but by now they were tinged with blood, sweat and other less savoury bodily fluids.

There was a creak on the landing outside and Ron kept to his feet looking around instinctively for his wand before remembering the Ministry had taken it off him when he was arrested. Ron looked around instead for something else, something heavy he thought wildly and spotted the bedside lamp.

The door creaked open slowly and there stood somebody Ron never expected. Hatred filled his every pore and he charged forwards holding the lamp aloft.

The plastic cord attaching it to the wall went tight and Ron was jerked backwards falling painfully on his backside.

"Still as clumsy as ever I see Weasley" Severus Snape said in a slimy drawl.

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	6. Out of the Cauldron

"You!" Ron lunged at Snape again. Thick rope cords shot out of Snape's wand and bound his left wrist to the bedstead. "You killed Dumbledore" Ron accused struggling against the coarse rope that bound him backwards.

Snape's smirk vanished "Yes" he said coldly as though the accusation did not faze him in the slightest.

"You tried to kill George" Ron shouted "You chopped his ear off"

Snape's lip curled once more and Ron felt his rage increase "As I recall Weasley" he said silkily "Your brothers never much utilised their listening faculties so I'm sure it is of no great loss"

"I won't tell you anything" Ron said boldly "Didn't your mates at the Ministry tell you that? You'll have to kill me first."

"Whilst I have every wish to remove your burdensome self from my company unfortunately I will not be killing you today Mr Weasley"

"Didn't you hear what I just said, I'm not talking!"

"There are other ways to get information; surely you learned that at the Ministry?" Snape said icily.

Ron gulped and with a sudden jolt of fear he realised what Snape was going to do "You're going to use legilemency on me aren't you?"

There was a long silence during which Snape looked at Ron speculatively; Ron guessed he was trying to work out whether Harry would have told him anything good.

"No I am not" he eventually replied.

Ron tried not to show his relief "Then what are you going to do?" he demanded now that the danger of involuntary betraying Harry was momentarily over. He didn't care if he sounded arrogant for a prisoner.

"It has not yet been decided" Snape informed him "For the moment much to our mutual displeasure you will remain with me." he said looking as unhappy about the prospect as Ron "You may leave this room if you please, my recommendation would be the shower, but I would not attempt to escape. This house has been tightly warded and any attempt will be...unpleasant. As I hardly need say would any further attacks be on my person."

He released the rope tying Ron to the bedpost and turned to leave the room. Before he could go however Ron could not help but blurt out "Where's Hermione?"

Snape looked at him strangely "With the Order no doubt" he said bemused "Unless she's had the uncharacteristic good sense to leave the country"

"You're lying" Ron spat "You've got her, I saw a Death Eater take her."

"Mr Weasley if the Death Eaters had captured the muggleborn best friend of Potter do you not think I would know about it?" he asked impatiently.

"I saw one kidnap her at the wedding" Ron repeated very slowly as though he was explaining something to a belligerent child.

Snape's eyes flickered for a moment before his cold disdainful expression returned. "You will be sent breakfast at seven" he said dispassionately and glared at the lamp that lay smashed on the floor "Try not to break anything in the meantime"

"Snape, Snape!" Ron called walking after him, wanting to demand better answers on Hermione's whereabouts but no sooner had he stepped onto the landing than he heard a loud crack and Snape had Disapparated.

oOoOoOo

Harry waited several hours until he was sure that the Lupins really had gone to bed. He heard Tonks and Lupin muttering together after he had stormed into his bedroom and packed his trunk and when he went out into the living room in the early hours of the morning he noticed Lupin had actually fallen asleep in an armchair in front of the fire.

Harry tipped around the room putting a selection of books and some food and potions into his trunk sure that Lupin had stayed guard out here to stop him doing the very thing he was carrying out. Feeling not a bit guilty he sat down at the small hardwood table and unfurled a scroll of parchment. Opening a bottle of ink and dipping in his quill he began to scratch out the following as quietly as he could.

_I'm sorry, I couldn't wait any longer. I have to get Ron and Hermione back – Harry_

From the armchair by the fire Lupin gave a loud snore, Harry froze checking that he was truly asleep before continuing leaving the letter on the table and looking around the room to see if there was anything he had forgotten. His hand went to his neck as he recalled the moleskin pouch that held the fake locket, snitch and marauders map. He had lost it the night of the wedding and had no idea whether it had fallen off at the Burrow, Tonks' flat or the journey to the Den.

One of Tonks' photo albums lay on the table next to Harry's letter. Harry took one last flick through the pages, his heart filling as he watched Ron and Hermione playing chess in Grimmauld Place, Fred and George making faces, Sirius raising a glass of butterbeer, Remus and Tonks standing outside a Registry Office and Ginny smiling beautifully up at him. Harry stared at this last photo of Ginny for what felt like a long time before picking it out of the album and slipping it carefully into his pocket.

Swinging his invisibility cloak over himself Harry shrunk his trunk so it could fit in his pocket and taking one last look at the sleeping Lupin he left through the oak door. Climbing the stairs of the tree trunk he heard the melodic twitters of the dawn chorus and left the tree to breathe the fresh cool morning air for the first time in days.

Harry felt almost light as he stared up at the lightening inky sky above. Finally he was off. Finally he was going to finish Dumbledore's work. Finally he was going to do something to get Ron and Hermione back.

oOoOoOo

After his evident excitement over her capture Hermione was worried that Crabbe would ignore his father's instructions and sneak down to molest her anyway. Therefore it was with no little surprise when the door clanked open the next day to reveal Draco Malfoy. From the haste with which he had rushed his friends from the dungeon the previous day Hermione did not think he would want to acknowledge her existence again.

"What are you doing here Granger?" Malfoy asked angrily seizing her upwards by the armpit to look her in the eye "Why are you pretending to be a squib? You'll get us all killed!"

"I didn't ask for this Malfoy" Hermione bit back, her voice was hoarse as she had not spoken for several days and had had very little water.

"You know Bardus Crabbe will find out eventually. Crabbe never could keep a lie going." Malfoy said with much scorn, stepping away from her and pacing along the cell gesticulating "The Dark Lord _will_ find out and then he will kill you and anyone who tried to cover for you."

"So why don't you tell him?" Hermione challenged, after days of being a victim, of playing the stupid frightened squib it felt good to argue back even if it wasn't particularly wise "He'll kill me and then you'll get want you always wanted. The filthy mudblood meeting her just deserts."

Something flickered in Malfoy's eyes but it only lasted a second "It's too late. I'd tell the Dark Lord you were here if I could, don't think I wouldn't" Malfoy said walking towards her pointing his finger at her. "But the lie's go on too long."

"It's been a day" Hermione scoffed not sure why she was contradicting him.

"You think the Dark Lord cares!" Malfoy spat "You think he's not looking for a reason to kill us all. This isn't fun and games and house points awarded by the Headmaster after another 'smashing' adventure. He will _torture_ you, he will _kill_ you!"

"And what do you think is happening to me now?" Hermione cried back "Do you think Crabbe kidnapped me so we could _crochet_ together?" she watched with a twisted pleasure as her implication sunk into Malfoy's face. He already knew of course why she was here and what must be happening to her but somehow hearing it more or less spelled out caused his faced to drain of the little colour it still held "Like I said Malfoy go ahead and tell him because whatever he does to me it can't be worse than this."

She didn't mean it of course, she would rather be tortured for a lifetime than be interrogated and inadvertently reveal the secret of Harry and the Horcruxes. But the sickly constitution that struck Malfoy at her words was nonetheless satisfying.

He looked away from her and swallowed down heavily now almost faintly green. Malfoy breathed heavily several times staring at the stone floor before looking back up at her with a new steely resolved.

"You got yourself into this Granger" he said pointing at her accusingly, his finger only wavering slightly "You can get yourself out." And with that he left the dungeon.

Hermione ran her hand through her lank unwashed tangled hair, she could have handled that better, she _should_ have handled that better. But arguing with Malfoy, making him unsettled, it made her feel more alive than she had felt since the wedding. For a brief sliver she was back at Hogwarts again, Ron and Harry alongside her battling in their fierce rivalry with Malfoy and his gang.

And now he was gone and any chance Hermione had of manipulating him to help her was also gone, possibly forever.

oOoOoOo

If somebody had asked Ron what it would be like to be held prisoner by Professor Snape before he was actually held prisoner by Professor Snape, Ron would have painted a vastly different picture. There were no manacles, no torture; even the food wasn't half bad.

Ron didn't know what kind of game Snape was playing but the murderer of Dumbledore more or less ignored him whilst Ron mostly kept to his room hoping not to provoke Snape into change his mind about legilimancy. He wasn't even that bored for Snape was treating the whole thing disturbingly like detention.

The day after Snape had first revealed himself he entered Ron's room carrying a two large black buckets and a pestle which he placed at the foot of Ron's bed. Ron looked in the buckets and saw to his disgust that whilst one was empty the other was swarming with writhing slimy black leeches.

"If you are going to be here you might as well make yourself useful" Snape sneered "I need all of those crushed into a fine juice by sunset and be warned Weasley I will not tolerate the slap dash job you normally make of preparing potions ingredients."

Ron stared down at the bucket in revulsion "You must be joking"

"I never joke Mr Weasley" Snape said coldly

"And what if I say no?" Ron asked boldly "Are you going to tell McGonagall or dock points?"

Snape flicked his wand and Ron flinched awaiting the oncoming Cruciatus Curse but instead he suddenly felt a dropping sensation and a blunt pain in his arse. The bed had vanished and he had fallen to the floor.

Snape curled his lip "Unless you wish you sleep on the floor tonight I suggest you get started."

oOoOoOo

Harry walked for a long time underneath his invisibility cloak through Glyn Cothi Forest. This was partly through the reluctance to cut ties with the Order completely and partly because he had only ever Apparated once before. But he knew he could not stay in the forest, apart from anything else if he was caught nearby his presence would endanger Lupin, Tonks and her father.

The first place he Apparated to was deserted quarry near some railway tracks that they passed every year on their way to and from Hogwarts. Harry was quite pleased with this first attempt, true he lost a fingernail through splinching but the Dittany he had stolen from Lupin's bathroom soon healed it. He Apparated several more times to be careful all the while thinking of where he should go.

His first thought was Grimmauld Place and the thought of running into Snape there made it even more attractive he thought vindictively. The problem was though that this would be the first place Lupin would look for him. In vain he racked his brain trying to think of somewhere the Order and Death Eaters would not think of till he stumbled on one strange thought. Taking one last look at the field around him he Disapparated once more.

Sea air filled his nostrils and Harry wobbled as he landed on the slippery rocks. Part of him could not believe the rickety hut was still there, that it had not collapsed in a storm years ago. But there it stood flimsy as ever and yet to Harry it seemed smaller, warmer somehow resting against the calm summer sea than it had on that wild night seven years ago when he had first learnt he was a wizard.

There was a small padlock on the door which Harry spelled away with ease. The two rooms inside were smaller and dustier than Harry could remember and the sunlight barely made it through the filthy grimed windows.

Dumping his miniaturised trunk on the lumpy sofa Harry left the hut and walked carefully around the rocks out sides uttering protective spells and enchantments. He suspected Hermione could have done a better job and remembered more things to add but eventually Harry was happy with his mixture of muffliatos, disillusionment and shield charms.

Once he was finished he took a deep breath and re-entered the hut. Harry had thought about this over and over in his head since Tonks had mentioned Regulus Black and although the idea was distasteful he really couldn't see any other alternative.

"Kreacher" he called out in a clear precise voice.

There was a loud crack and the house elf that Harry had so reluctantly inherited from Sirius appeared out of nowhere in front of the cold and empty fireplace: tiny, half human-sized, his pale skin hanging off him in folds, white hair sprouting copiously from his batlike ears. He was still wearing the filthy rag in which they had first met him, and the contemptuous look he bent upon Harry showed that his attitude to his change of ownership had altered no more than his outfit.

"Master," croaked Kreacher in his bullfrog's voice, and he bowed low; muttering to his knees, he looked around at the squalid hut and pricked his ears at the waves lapping against the rocks outside "Master is on the run, Master is _hiding _from He who must not be Named. "

Harry ignored the gleeful tone in Kreacher's voice. Even if the elf had found not betrayed Sirius to Voldemort he would have been hard pressed not to admit a desire to dunk him into the sea outside but there was no other option. He could not go to Grimmauld Place, Tonks did not know anything and her mother had been disowned as a Black when Regulus was only twelve. What's more any other Black family member still living would not hesitate to hand him to Lord Voldemort.

"I've got a question for you," said Harry, his heart beating rather fast as he looked down at the elf, "and I order you to answer it truthfully. Understand?"

"Yes, Master," said Kreacher, bowing low again and said as though it gave him great pain "Kreacher lives to serve the Potter boy."

"Many years ago," said Harry, his heart now hammering against his ribs, "Regulus Black found something, a big gold locket. Do you know anything about that?"

There was a moment's silence, during which Kreacher's eyes widened almost in fear. He pressed his lips tightly together obviously desperately trying to remain silent but it was no use, the ancient spells binding him to Harry were obviously too strong and eventually he choked out, "Yes."

"Do you know where it is now?" asked Harry feeling a sense of jubilation; surely it could not be that easy.

Kreacher closed his eyes as though he could not bear to see his reactions to his next word.

"Gone."

"Gone?" echoed Harry, elation floating out of him, "What do you mean, it's gone?"

The elf shivered. He swayed.

"Kreacher," said Harry fiercely, "I order you"

"Mundungus Fletcher," croaked the elf, his eyes still tight shut. "Mundungus Fletcher stole it all; Miss Bella's and Miss Cissy's pictures, my Mistress's gloves, the Order of Merlin, First Class, the goblets with the family crest, and Master Regulus's locket"

Kreacher was gulping for air: His hollow chest was rising and falling rapidly, then his eyes flew open and he uttered a bloodcurdling scream.

"The locket, Master Regulus's locket. Kreacher did wrong, Kreacher failed in his orders!"

Harry reacted instinctively: As Kreacher lunged himself against the corner of Harry's resized trunk, he launched himself upon the elf, flattening him. Kreacher was still able to move his head and he bashed it against the iron fire grate, blood spurted out and Harry bellowed, "Kreacher, I order you to stay still!"

He felt the elf freeze and released him. Kreacher lay flat on the cold stone floor, tears gushing from his sagging eyes and blood dripping from his forehead. Harry heard Hermione's voice in his head and dove into the trunk to get some Dittany to heal to bitter elf's cut.

He knealt beside the elf and once it had reopened its eyes said in a clear commanding tone "Right. Kreacher, I want the truth: How do you know Mundungus Fletcher stole the locket?"

"Kreacher saw him!" gasped the elf as tears poured over his snout and into his mouth full of greying teeth. "Kreacher saw him coming out of Kreacher's cupboard with his hands full of Kreacher's treasures. Kreacher told the sneak thief to stop, but Mundungus Fletcher laughed and r-ran ..."

"You called the locket 'Master Regulus's,'" said Harry. "Why? Where did it come from? What did Regulus have to do with it? Kreacher, sit up and tell me everything you know about that locket, and everything Regulus had to do with it!"

The elf sat up, curled into a ball, placed his wet face between his knees, and began to rock backward and forward. When he spoke, his voice was muffled but quite distinct in the silent, creaking hut.

And so Kreacher told the story of Regulus Black. The good Black brother who knew his duty and the dignity of his pure blood, who had proudly joined the Dark Lord at the age of sixteen. The boy who had worshipped the Dark Lord and his plans to bring wizards and witches out of hiding until one day he had found the truth of the lengths Voldemort was prepared to go to.

Harry listened feeling sick as Kreacher relived the experience of visiting the cave first with Voldemort and then with Regulus. He watched as the elf once more burst into tears as he spoke of Regulus's sacrifice, how he had drunk the evil liquid and was dragged under the black water by dead arms as Kreacher was able to Apparate to safety unable to tell anybody what had happened.

Listlessly Harry remembered Sirius who had died thinking his brother a coward and of Regulus consumed with the myth and legend of the Dark Lord but when confronted with the reality laying down his life to bring about his downfall. Harry knew there were plenty of wizards even within the Order who would have let Kreacher drink the potion, who would have justified Kreacher's death as necessary and believed themselves the only ones capable of destroying the horcrux.

Regulus had believed better and so Harry thought with a pang had Dumbledore.

"I don't understand you, Kreacher," he said finally. "You Know Who tried to kill you, Regulus died to bring him down, but you were still happy to betray Sirius to the Death Eaters? You were happy to go to Narcissa and Bellatrix, and pass information to You Know Who through them ..."

The elf was in no fit state to reply however, the tale seemed to have overwhelmed him and now he watched Kreacher sobbing on the floor.

He heard a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Hermione "_Just be kind to him Harry"_ she said. He wished she was here.

"Kreacher," said Harry after a while, "when you feel up to it, er ... please sit up."

It was several minutes before Kreacher hiccupped himself into silence. Then he pushed himself into a sitting position again, rubbing his knuckles into his eyes like a small child.

"Kreacher, I am going to ask you to do something," said Harry. He wanted to give the order kindly, but at the same time, he could not pretend that it was not an order.

"Kreacher, I want you, please, to go and find Mundungus Fletcher. We need to find out where the locket is, where Master Regulus's locket it. It's really important. We want to finish the work Master Regulus started, we want to err… ensure that he didn't die in vain."

Kreacher dropped his fists and looked up at Harry.

"Find Mundungus Fletcher?" he croaked.

"And bring him here, to this hut," said Harry. "Do you think you could do that for me?"

Kreacher nodded and got to his feet teetering slightly as he recovered from the over-pouring of emotion. He then made a low bows to Harry before Disapparating with the usual loud crack.

oOoOoOo

_"__Hermione put the book away and come in" Ron yelled splashing around in the pond behind the Burrow. It was the hottest day of the summer before their sixth year and the Weasleys and Harry were cooling off in the large Burrow pond whilst Hermione sat on the bank reading the new edition of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six._

_Hermione had noticed with satisfaction that Harry had blushed when Ginny had first appeared on the bank in just her swimming costume and now the pair were laughing, trying to splash one another as much as possible._

_"__Geronimo" Fred yelled jumping from the branches of an old oak into the pond causing an almighty splash that drenched everybody in range including Hermione and her textbook._

_"__Fred!" Hermione cried_

_"__Come on Hermione" Ron said suddenly appearing behind her and lifting her up by her elbows "You have to have fun with us now."_

_"__Ron!" Hermione warned feeling a tingle in her stomach as he held her close and George ran over to lift her up by the ankles "George!"_

_"__Ready?" Ron asked over her head as he and George grinned to each other carrying her over to the reeds._

_"__Ronald Weasley I am warning you!" Hermione said as they began to swing her back and forth and she tried to ignore the tempting crystal blue water and the good natured chuckles of Harry, Ginny and Fred._

_"__Three, two…" Ron and George said together "One!" and they tossed her into the cool water._

_Hermione re-emerged spluttering and glaring at Ron "You are dead," She hissed_

_Ron paled and the others laughed as she chased him around the banks and into the back garden. At some point she forgot she was mad at him and jumped onto his back, and they fell into the long summer grass giggling. Hermione stopped when she realised she was in Ron's arms and her wet t-shirt was clinging tightly to her body, he was looking at her intently, slowly he moved his head towards hers and…_

Clang! Hermione jolted upwards with a start and she realised it was just a dream. In reality Mrs Weasley had interrupted them, calling them in for lunch and Ron had pulled away a deep shade of red in embarrassment.

The nameless elf was back and it did not have any food - that was not a good sign.

"Master wishes to see you" it croaked. Hermione was certain that elf had been abused possibly worse even than Dobby, it never looked her in the eye and flinched whenever Hermione made any unexpected movements.

"Why?" Hermione demanded. She had not left her cell since her first day in the castle, her meals were brought to her and Mr Crabbe always came to her cell when he wanted to rape her. Hermione did not trust this new change in circumstances.

The elf ignored her and merely held the door open.

Knowing by now that Mr Crabbe was the type of man who would drag her by her hair roots if she did not oblige Hermione got up and followed the strange elf.

It led her through the dungeons and up the spiral staircase she had been dragged down on her arrival. A strong draft of the entrance hall blew over her legs and Hermione tugged the short brown dress down to try and warm herself.

Torches lit a second stone staircase which led them to the first floor Hermione's feet touched carpet for the first time which green and threadbare led down a long corridor with an arched ceiling. Loud raucous laughter drifted towards her and Hermione felt her sense of foreboding increase as she followed the elf down the corridor, the laughter getting louder as the shadows from the torches bracketed to the walls got longer.

The elf opened a door and Hermione was shown through, she froze in her place. She was in a long dining room lit by a hearth taller than Hermione herself. The walls were decorated with the mounted heads of hippogriffs and six foot tall portraits of thick ugly looking men in varying states of historic dress that could only be the Crabbe ancestors.

At the far end of the table a group of six men sat playing cards and drinking heavily.

"There yer are" Mr Crabbe roared "Get over here."

Hermione tugged her dress down further as she walked with no great haste towards the men several of them leering at her openly. She should have run when she had the chance, she thought half terrified, as soon as that elf had opened the cell door she should have pushed him down and ran.

"Isn't she a beauty?" Crabbe said to the men slapping her firmly on the behind as she stepped towards him "Picked 'er up from the Weasley wedding, goes by the name of Maud."

Hermione was sure she was practically vibrating with fear but she could no longer feel her arms or legs. Instead she was looking firmly at the floor praying her dirty hair would conceal her face for she recognised two Death Eaters she had seen before at the Department of Mysteries - Walden Macnair and Rabastan Lestrange.

Mr Crabbe quickly noticed what she was doing and yanked her head backwards so her face was fully on display. She was sure they could hear the loud thump of her heartbeat as the men looked at her, it had been over a year and it was dark in the Department. Was it possible that with their concentration focused on capturing Harry they had not got a good enough look at her.

Lestrange scoffed "That?" he gestured at Hermione "You want to pay your debt with _that_. Surely the Crabbe vaults have not run so dry."

"What's yer problem Lestrange?" Crabbe sneered "Forgotten where to put it?"

The other men at the table laughed and Rabastan visibly bristled "That…" and he nodded with disgust "Might be consolation enough for someone married to your wife Bardus…" Macnair snorted spilling wine over his cards "But in case you have forgotten I am engaged to the beautiful Aelfraeda Selwyn, I'll take my winnings in gold if you don't mind."

Hermione's heart skipped, she never though she would want to stay within Crabbe Castle but if the alternative was the Lestrange family…

A rather round man with a red nose and greasy hair snorted "I remember seeing her at Gibbon's funeral don't know how you got so bloody lucky Lestrange" he said gathering up the cards and shuffling the deck before continuing dreamily "Twenty two years old and the most enormous pair of…"

"Yes thank you Jugson" Rabastan said, his voice had a definite steely edge to it.

"Isn't she related to that toad who used to work for Fudge?" Macnair asked idly "Umbridge wasn't it; if that's her blood it looks like you're in a serious disappointment in twenty years' time Rabastan"

"Don't be ridiculous, do you think I'd associate my family with an upstart like that?" Rabastan said pouring a bottle of firewhiskey into several of their glasses "I'm waiting for my gold Bardus" he nodded "Miss Selwyn's mother actually comes from the Hartmann family of Bavaria, a very old and very distinguished…"

Crabbe slammed down a knife on the table making Hermione jump "Yer'll take her" he growled. He appeared to be quite drunk.

Rabastan looked at him squarely "As I said, what do I want with a squib like that?"

Crabbe growled and Hermione noticed his hand itching towards his wand. Jugson must have noticed it too for he quickly said "Oh take the fucking squib Lestrange before Crabbe combusts."

Macnair and the others laughed. Rabastan who Hermione realised was at least several inches shorter than the others appeared to be cowed "Fine" he spat "Send her to Cathrack Tor" he drained his glass of firewhiskey as Hermione's heart began to beat wildly.

"No!" she blurted out in panic.

The Death Eaters roared with laughter "I think she's developed a bit of a crush Bardus" Macnair grinned.

Crabbe smirked disgustingly and said smugly pulling Hermione onto his lap and putting his hand between her legs "Well it's only natural isn't it"

Rabastan's eyes narrowed "She's my property now Bardus" he said coldly and he clicked his fingers to the Crabbe's house elf "You, take her back to the Lestrange seat."

And before Hermione could do anything, before she could even think about running a small grey hand grasped at her elbow and she Disapparated appearing with a loud crack in the lair of Bellatrix Lestrange.

**Please read and review**


	7. Cathrack Tor

Hermione reappeared to no surprise of her own in another dark dank cell with stone walls and iron bars. The mute house elf immediately disappeared and Hermione began to hyperventilate.

Now surely she had to find a way to escape, whatever chance there was that Bellatrix did not recognise her it was too much to risk. It was just too much to hope for that the most devoted obsessive follower of the Voldemort had not been studying the Boy Who Lived and his associates avidly. Hermione paced her cell on edge, pushing against the door in vain all the while shaking with fear knowing that even if she did not see Bellatrix tonight, Rabastan would soon be back after a night of what looked like heavy drinking. And his protestations aside Hermione knew from Crabbe what Death Eaters did when they had been drinking.

Suddenly a low mournful howl echoed from nearby and Hermione jumped. It sounded somewhere between a man and a beast whatever it was it was clearly in pain and nearby.

"Hello" Hermione called out tentatively but there was no answer. After several long moments of silence Hermione began to believe she had imagined it, maybe she was missing Professor Lupin.

Heavy steps stomped towards her cell and Hermione stood resolutely still. He would have to throw her down she decided trying to quash her feelings of terror and she would try to scratch his eyes out first.

She heard him open several doors first before he arrived at hers. Rabastan looked red eyed, tired, drunk and strangely annoyed at seeing Hermione in a cell.

"For Merlin's sake" he muttered and grabbing Hermione's arm pulled her out of the cell "Bloody elf"

Hermione was yanked up a flight of stairs very quickly until they arrived in quite a plain furnished corridor with simple blue carpets and white washed walls. They passed through several such corridors and past a room that contained a mangle and a lot of clothes until they were suddenly in the most ornate hall Hermione had ever seen.

Lush red carpets, intricately carved bannisters and a ceiling depicting in great detail what looked like the Giant Wars of the Dark Ages. Rabastan pulled her up the impressive staircase and they passed through various other obscene displays of wealth such as a table looked to be made entirely of gold and a long row of mounted Unicorn horns.

"As I'm stuck with you, you can make yourself useful" Rabastan grumbled pulling her past a tapestry of several mermaids which Hermione thought might have been embroidered with real silver "Our house elf's practically derelict, can't even Apparate upstairs anymore so it'll be your job to take care of the upper floors. I presume you've been taught some skills squib."

"Y...yes" Hermione stuttered

"Yes sir" Rabastan commanded "You can go down to the kitchens tomorrow to fetch the morning breakfast which you will serve in the West Wing breakfast room promptly at nine every morning, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir" Hermione whispered, trying not to think about who she might meet at breakfast.

"Otherwise I would avoid the ground floor and reception rooms, Maggot can take care of those and trust me you don't want to run into my sister in law in a bad mood." Rabastan said with a grim smile.

"Does...Doesn't she live here then?" Hermione blurted out trying to hide her relief.

Rabastan looked at her slowly and she realised she had not been successful. "So you've heard of Bellatrix then, well I supposed that's hardly surprising. Don't worry I won't throw you to the bitch unless you do something incredibly stupid like try to escape" he said and started walking again pulling Hermione up another set of stairs, they were now once again in a plainer part of the house "No Bellatrix doesn't live here, thank Merlin, she prefers her sister's house."

Hermione had a brief image of Malfoy cooped up with Bellatrix Lestrange and tried not to feel sorry for him.

Rabastan unlocked a plain wooden door to an even plainer room which to Hermione's surprise included a bed and a small chest of drawers.

"This is your room" he said "The room will lock you in each night after sunset and the wards will unlock at six. The house itself is heavily warded so otherwise you are free to go as you please"

Hermione's stomach sunk the brief illusion that she could just slip out during sometime dusting vanished.

Rabastan turned to go but then stopped "Oh yes" he said and got something out of his cloak which he threw to Hermione "These I believe are yours"

Hermione looked down in wonder at the purple dress and beaded bag Crabbe had taken off her the night of the wedding.

"Thank you" she said as she clutched a bag containing polyjuice potion, several Dark Arts books and a multitude of WWW products.

Rabastan sniffed "I had a look in that bag of yours" he said blinking and looking utterly bemused "I'm afraid you won't have much use for confetti here."

Once he had left Hermione almost laughed in relief as she hugged her beaded bag to her. She had placed a concealing charm on the bag so that if somebody other than her tried to look in it without using the counter spell they would find an ordinary bag only containing whatever she left on the top layer, in this instance confetti for Bill and Fleur's wedding.

It was clear that Rabastan Lestrange had no idea he had just thrown Hermione a magical arsenal.

oOoOoOo

The window was open. It was undeniable; Ron put his hand up to the gap and felt the soft limp breeze of August. He had been standing in the kitchen making a sandwich when he noticed it and now Ron Weasley stood there transfixed.

Was it a trap he wondered, was it part of this strange game Snape was playing to try and get information out of him? Or possibly had Snape been brewing and just happened to open the window get rid of the steam forgetting to close it again?

Ron couldn't be that lucky surely, but then almost everything he had experienced about this war so far had been as the result of chance. Neither Dumbledore nor You Know Who's plans ever seemed to come off with exact precision. Harry and Hermione would know Ron swore to himself. He was sure they would be able to work out if this was his chance or if it was another trap.

Ron looked down at his half buttered bread; even if he could escape he had no wand. He had no idea where Harry and Hermione were and he wasn't even sure how to get to the Burrow was by way of muggle transportation.

On the other hand there was no way Snape would play nice forever and this could be his only chance. Moving so quickly it was if he had been stung Ron leapt up onto the table and stepped onto the kitchen counter. He pushed the window open with a small creak and took a lungful of fresh air for the first time in three weeks.

Not wanting to waste any more time Ron looked down at the sparse grass below and jumped.

It was though he had run head first into a trampoline. He bounced back into the kitchen so hard his head smashed several saucepans on the other side of the kitchen and he collapsed onto the floor unable to move and feeling several disturbing pinpricks all over his body.

Snape came back several hours later and smirked to find him first frozen on the floor covered in agonising pus ridden boils.

"I did warn you Mr Weasley" he did flicking his wand so the curse started to reverse itself "But I suppose you and Potter never did set much store in rules."

Ron stretched tentatively standing up and wobbling slightly. He glared at Snape with everything he could muster, several hours of frozen stupidly on the floor covered in boils had given him time to stew hatefully "At least we're not murderers"

Snape's look of triumph vanished and it was replaced by something colder and harder than Ron had ever seen before "_Yet_ Mr Weasley" he said walking into the living room "You are not murderers _yet_. This war is still young and you have not yet made the necessary sacrifices you will need to."

"And is that what you needed to do, kill Dumbledore?" Ron accused "Is that why I'm here, you want to play spy again and are trying to convince me that Dumbledore was a necessary sacrifice?" to his pleasure Snape looked a little rattled, good Ron didn't like playing games "Were Harry's Mum and Dad necessary sacrifices too, is that why you sold them out to You Know Who?"

Suddenly he felt something at his throat, squeezing at his windpipe, Ron clawed at his throat as he felt his lungs cry out for air. Snape looked on murderously; he didn't even have a wand and appeared to be choking Ron solely with his burning eyes.

Ron felt himself turn blue, he fell to his knees and reached out whether begging for help or not he did not know and then just as quickly as the curse had arrived it was lifted and Ron collapsed to the floor gasping in chestful's of oxygen.

"If you ever think of saying that again I will kill you" Snape hissed and Ron in his delirious state blinked confused. He had mentioned Dumbledore's murder on his arrival in Spinner's End but Snape had not tried to kill him then. Snape walked towards him slowly "You truly are a foolish boy" he murmured "Why I am expected to keep you here I cannot fathom, if it were Potter or even Granger…" his lip curled "But what value could _you_ possibly have?"

Ron managed to pick himself up into a sitting position he did not say anything but stared resolutely at Snape, he would not let him get to him.

"A useless boy, a moronic boy, a sychophant…" Snape continued hissing "Trading on Potter's fame, living in his shadows, no wonder he hasn't come looking for you, _who would_?"

Ron gripped his fists together and bit the inside of his cheek trying to ignore Snape's taunts, but it was hard especially when they were the same shameful thoughts he imagined in the dead of night. Was Harry trying to find a way to rescue him or did he just not care?

"And Granger, poor pathetic Miss Granger, lumbered with a paramour so…"

"Don't talk about her" Ron snapped

Snape laughed evidently pleased to have got a reaction and then his look went quite dark "I pity Miss Granger most of all, all that incessant arm waving could not have merited such a punishment as you who would let her get captured, who would let her rot?"

"Shut up" Ron said he did not have a wand and he leapt to his feet and looked at Snape menacingly "Shut up!"

"Why, I'm not the one who revealed to the first Death Eater I met that she had been captured? I'm not the one who traded with her safety for nothing?"

"What are you talking about?" Ron said grinding his teeth "She was captured; you already know that, I saw a Death Eater take her. You know you have her."

"No they don't" Snape said slowly and pointedly "If Miss Granger is indeed a prisoner whoever hold her does not know her value or he would have revealed it. There is no-one of her description on the Muggleborn Register so they do not even know her blood type. If she is still alive her anonymity is the only thing protecting her and you blurt it out to the first follower of the Dark Lord you talk to."

Ron recoiled and took a great gulp of air. Was he right? If he was what had Ron done he realised with horror? Snape would go to You Know Who; he would tell him Hermione was in the dungeons of one of his followers, she would be brought before him and…

Ron didn't think he just acted. He ran to the front door and pulled at it with all his might. The handle burned into his skin and bounced him back onto the floor, Ron ran at it again thrusting his burnt hands once more onto the white hot handle. He was thrown back again and once more he leapt up…

"Protego" an invisible shield burst up between Ron and the door. Ron turned and looked at the spell caster furiously.

"Let me go!" he said through gritted teeth.

"You'll kill yourself" Snape drawled and whether he was talking about the house wards or facing Death Eaters he sounded bored by the whole thing.

"I don't care" Ron hissed.

"You really think you can rescue her, _you_ Weasley without Potter's coattails to ride on" Snape scoffed "You'll be dead before you cross the threshold if you ever discover where to go that is."

"I don't care" Ron repeated "Let me go"

"And who's to say she'll thank you?" Snape continued "The girl who goes out with international quidditch stars, whose best friend is The Boy Who Lived, what could she possibly want from a pathetic wretch like you?"

"I don't care, I don't care, I DON'T CARE!" Ron shouted feeling himself go red with rage "I don't care if she doesn't want me, I don't care if she doesn't like me, if she doesn't even want to be friends. I don't care if she marries Krum or Harry or Cormac fucking McLaggen. I don't care if I never see her again if the end result is she's safe and I will do anything, I will _always _do anything, I would murder and I would _die_ to make that happen."

Ron finished this speech breathing heavily but fully sure of everything he had just said. Something flickered in Snape's eyes and he was now looking at Ron as if he had never seen him before.

"There is nothing you can do now" Snape eventually said drawing himself up from his state of shock "You have no idea where Miss Granger is. I can find her however but I will need time, I cannot go barging around Britain asking after her unless you would like her in front of the Dark Lord."

"And why would you do that?" Ron asked scornfully

"I have my reasons" Snape said dispassionately "You shall just have to trust me."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because Mr Weasley" Snape said grimly "You have no other choice"

**So a slightly shorter chapter. Please read and review and let me know what you think as I'm was a little worried as to how this chapter turned out **

**Thank you to all the lovely people who have left reviews so far.**


	8. Mundungus and Bellatrix

"Why would somebody take Hermione if they didn't know who or what she was?" Ron asked Snape one evening.

Snape who was sitting by the fire reading a book which to Ron's disgust looked to be made of human skin, did not even look up at Ron's sudden entrance or question.

"You already know the answer to that" he murmured and carried on reading.

"I want to hear it from you" Ron said through gritted teeth

Snape closed the book and gave him a very dark look, but Ron didn't care. He had been burning with anxiety for days and if he felt as if he just knew something of what Hermione was up against…

"War is chaos" Snape said slowly "It is screaming and bloodied bodies and madness. There are men out there who use the distraction, the lawlessness that unfurls to fulfil their base desires."

Ron gulped "So she is being raped?" he asked hoarsely.

"We can only hope" Snape said grimly "The alternative is she is dead."

"She...she might have escaped" Ron offered tentatively, desperate for an alternate that did not have him imagine Hermione's mangled bloody corpse on the bottom of a cell floor.

"Perhaps" Snape conceded "Although in my experience witches who undergo such atrocities are unable to summon enough magic to escape even if they get hold of a wand."

Ron bristled "Hermione's not like other witches" he said proudly "And how do you know this, how many witches have you raped?"

Snape gave him such a murderous glare at this question Ron thought he might start choking him again "None" he hissed "But unlike you I have not been coddled from the realities of fighting this war."

"Why do you keep saying war like that, like your still fighting?" Ron asked suddenly "I thought the Death Eaters believed they had won, Runcorn said all the Order was under house arrest, that the war was over."

"Runcorn was lying, trying to get you to give up hope" Snape said in a tone that made it clear how stupid Ron was for believing it "The Order is actually in hiding for the most part. Although whether they are fighting is another matter, they appear to have rolled over accepted defeat and run away with their tails between their legs."

"And what are you doing?" Ron accused he had thinking about this a lot and could only come up with one explanation for Snape's odd behaviour "I mean that's why I'm here isn't it, you're trying to convince me that you're really on the side of the Order, Dumbledore murdering aside of course" Snape gripped his book a little harder "What are you doing for the Order?"

"I don't pretend to be doing anything for the Order" Snape sneered "Nothing I have ever done has been for the Order"

"I knew it" Ron said triumphantly and then he frowned and noticed Snape's smirk. But then if his theory that Snape was trying to wheedle his way back in as a spy he was unlikely to deny it quite so bluntly and therefore Ron couldn't help but ask "So what do you want from me?"

Snape looked back down at his book and drawled casually "Shockingly you were right the first night you arrived, I want to know where Potter is."

Ron snorted "You don't honestly expect I'll tell you that do you?"

"No" Snape drawled "Although it would make my life a lot easier"

A sudden horrible thought came to Ron as things began to click clumsily together in his mind and he looked at Snape suspiciously "Is that the trade then, Hermione for Harry."

Snape looked up from his book eyeing Ron speculatively and he put his finger to his chin stroking it softly "And if it was?" he sounded casually interested.

Ron shuddered, his mind circled different answers all of which were too awful to dwell on "It's pointless anyway" he said instead "You don't know where Hermione is and I don't know where Harry is"

"You did not answer my question Mr Weasley" Snape pressed.

Ron remained silent and just glared at him and to his surprise Snape instead of becoming angry smirked once more.

"You are learning Mr Weasley"

oOoOoOo

Several days passed before Harry saw Kreacher again and he was reluctant to admit that he almost began to miss the demented house elf. After all he had been the only company Harry had had on the little hut on the rock.

Now he was back here and able to do magic the hut was suddenly a lot more comfortable than it had been six years ago. This was partly because this time he was sleeping the bed rather than on the floor but also in his boredom Harry had taken to fixing a lot of the holes and drafts in the outer walls. This meant everything did not smell of sea water so much and once he had transfigured a bit of drift wood to fix the gap between the door and the floor he no longer woke in the morning to step into cold water that had leaked in in the middle of the night.

Harry did not know how long he was going to be on the run so he rationed the food he had taken from Remus and Tonks accordingly however some of it had to be eaten or else it would go off.

Harry was just leafing through a charms book which by the looks of it had belonged to Lupin's father and wondering if he should have a go at a Stasis charm when there was a sudden loud crack.

In front of him appeared a flurry of limbs and what looked like a man with long stringy ginger hair wrestled with a very small child. Harry beamed, Kreacher had caught him. Holding his wand aloft Harry cast a very precise _Petrificus Totalus_ which left Mundungus Fletcher frozen and Kreacher free to happily bound to Harry proclaiming.

"Kreacher got him master. Kreacher got the thief."

"Who are you calling a thief?" Mundungus croaked frozen on the floor staring up at the ceiling.

"You, you're a filthy little thief and everyone knows it Mundungus" Harry spoke coldly.

Mundungus's eyes widened as he recognised Harry's voice "Look if this is about Mad Eye" he said quickly "I never said I was brave nor nufing, I was forced onto that broom I was" he said indignantly "I got nufing against you Harry but I never said I'd die for yer."

"Don't worry Mundungus we always knew you were a coward but I didn't ask Kreacher to bring you here for that" Harry said and Mundungus let a visible sigh of relief "Besides I'm not one to deny Tonks revenge, I'm sure she'll want the pleasure of punishing you for Mad Eye's death herself."

Mundungus visibly gulped but stared up at Harry who was now standing over him and said rather boldly for a petrified man "What do yet want then?" he demanded "What do yet mean by sending bleedin' house elves to attack me."

"You is a thief" Kreacher said nastily and grabbed a saucepan Harry had used to cook his lunch and began whacking Mundungus over the head with it "You is a nasty rotten thief. You is stealing Master Regulus's locket"

"Oww!" Mundungus cried as Kreacher started hitting him harder and in more places.

"That's enough Kreacher" Harry commanded "We need him conscious"

"Perhaps one more Master" Kreacher suggested hopefully fingering the saucepan "For good luck?"

Harry tried not to smile "Maybe later" he said and he crouched down next to Mundungus "Now look here Mundungus, when you were stripping Grimmauld Place bare after Sirius died..." Mundungus opened his mouth "And don't bother to deny it, I saw you selling Black silverware in Hogsmeade remember."

"Well what does it matter, no-one else was going to use it, why shouldn't I make a few bob" Mundungus defended and Kreacher gripped the saucepan more tightly "Sirius never liked any of that stuff anyway, yer know 'e didn't"

"This isn't about Sirius" Harry said shortly for although he knew Mundungus was right, he did not like to hear Sirius's name mentioned by such a coward "This about a locket, a great big gold one that you stole"

"Master Regulus's locket" Kreacher added.

"Precisely" Harry said his heart starting to beat harder "Do you remember?"

"Course I do" Mundungus sniffed "Great big thing, green 'S' on it, looked to be worth a few galleons I reckon."

"That's it" Harry said starting to breathe quicker in anticipation "Have you still got it then?"

Mundungus shook his head

"You sold it" Harry said accusingly and Mundungus laughed.

"Sold it" he scoffed "She bloody well nicked it."

"Who did?" Harry asked breathlessly.

"Some Ministry witch, don't know her name. Caught me selling in Diagon Alley and took the necklace of me as a fine" Mundungus said bitterly "Wore a lot of pink though, face like a toad."

oOoOoOo

Life at Cathrack Tor was quite different to Crabbe Castle. Hermione was able to come and go more or less as she pleased and although her duties consisted of cleaning the upper rooms where Maggot the elderly house elf had difficulty getting to she made sure to take a cursory look of the ground floor and the gardens. True to Rabastan's words escape would be quite difficult, the house was surrounded by long flat lawns cut by gravel pathways, beyond the gardens was a winding road which took you to the gate and Hermione estimated it would take her at least ten minutes to get there from the edge of the lawn, time enough for somebody to spot her from the house thanks to the pancake like landscape. Worse still were the long bare moors for miles around which would make sure that anybody approaching the house would also witness her flee.

Then there was the gate itself, from what Hermione had seen from the comings and goings of Rodolphus and Rabastan you needed a wand and a spell or password of some sort. So she ruled out the gate and once her survey was made avoided the ground floor remembering Rabastan's words her first night and not wanting to run into Bellatrix or any other Death Eaters that might pop by.

Surprisingly on the whole the Lestranges treated her quite well, for a slave of course. Rodolphus Lestrange, she learned when being instructed by Maggot how to set out the breakfast things, rarely rose past two in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day drinking until he passed out on the sofa which was usually pretty quickly. So far Hermione had yet to see him sober something which she was sure must happen as she could not imagine Voldemort being quite as understanding as Madam Lestrange when he passed out in the fountain and was discovered the next day lazily singing a song about goblins to the goldfish.

Understanding was perhaps not the best word either though to describe Madam Lestrange. The old woman was in a worst state than her house elf, blind and half deaf Hermione often wondered whether she knew Hermione was actually there as she seemed to shout orders to the nearest presence whether it was Hermione, Rabastan or a suit of armour.

Rabastan meanwhile, who had made his thoughts about keeping Hermione abundantly clear, mostly kept out of her way. Now and then he would come across her in the house and scold her for moving this or that artefact while she dusted but generally he left her alone. The most he had spoken to her after her arrival was the first breakfast she had served. She had walked into the sunny room in the west wing holding two trays of fruits and pastries and feeling incredibly self-conscious. In the broad daylight the crude little dress Crabbe had put her in seemed more obscene and she spent the meal tugging it down and trying to avoid Rabastan's eyes on her legs.

"Mother this is Maud" Rabastan said loudly spreading jam onto a slice of bread with surprising precision.

"WHAT! Who's Mod?" Madam Lestrange answered even louder.

Rabastan winced "Maud not Mod" he corrected her speaking loudly and slowly "There's no need to shout, you're the one whose deaf not me. She's going to be doing some house work for us, she's a squib."

Then he looked at Hermione and instructed "Greet her or else she'll think I'm as mad as her."

"Good Morning Madam Lestrange" Hermione struggled to say in a clear carrying tone that still conveyed servitude.

Madam Lestrange flinched back "WHAT! WHO WAS THAT?" she cried.

"MAUD, THE NEW SERVANT...SHE'S A SQUIB" Rabastan shouted directly at his mother and then when it appeared to have no impact sat back in his chair and clicked his fingers at Hermione gesturing her to pour him some orange juice. "Barmy old bat" he muttered

Hermione hurried to comply and as she worked felt his eyes once again on her bare legs.

"What on earth is that monstrosity you are wearing?" he drawled.

Hermione flushed, she would have worn the purple dress robes she had been given back last night but somehow she suspected that would be received worse that the obscene brown dress.

"Mr C...Crabbe, he gave it to me sir" she said in as submissive a voice as she could manage.

Rabastan rolled his eyes "Of course he did, the pervert" he scoffed "Well you certainly can't go round dressed like that, if Mother still had her sight she would have a heart attack" he flicked his wand and to Hermione's relief the dress grew several inches till it reached her ankles. "I'll get some proper servant robes for you this afternoon"

Hermione nodded honestly grateful for this gesture but she supposed in a house as fine as this it would not do for the help to be dressed in rags.

Rabastan bought her two sets of servant robes and although they were very plain they were warm, comfortable and protected her modesty. It also meant she could keep clean, wearing one set of robes whilst washing the other.

This relative thoughtfulness however did not deter Hermione from her main objective to escape. The thought consumed her entirely and halfway through her second week there she spotted an opportunity.

Rabastan and Rodolphus were due to take lunch with the Selwyns, something Hermione knew about as Rabastan had ordered her to wash his dress robes for the occasion so he was well presented on meeting his fiancé. Locked in as she was at night this would be the first time Hermione would have free in the house since her arrival during daylight hours. After they left she waited twenty minutes in case they came back then crept up to the Madam Lestrange's rooms. If her son had not been keeping her captive Hermione would have felt guilty for the ease at which she crept into the old witch's rooms and plucked a few stringy white hairs from her scalp as she gave twitch as though shooing off a fly.

Acting quickly Hermione grabbed a robe from the woman's wardrobe as well as the old witch's wand and added the hair to the muddy brown liquid she had taken form her beaded bag. Hermione watched as the polyjuice potion turned a dirty white and swigged it down with gusto watching as thin blue veins crept up her arms and large brown liver spots bloomed in the skin.

Hermione looked in the bathroom mirror satisfied once she had put on the stolen robe that even the Lestrange brothers would now take her for their elderly mother.

She crept down the staircase from the third floor towards the kitchen quietly. Her plan was to appeal to Maggot that she was not feeling well and demand to be taken to St Mungos immediately. She knew Maggot could Apparate outside the houses' wards as even in his frailty he still managed to go to Hogsmeade market once a week for the Lestranges and the house elf would not dare disobey a direct order from the Lestrange matriarch if she was in mad uncompromising mood. Then once at St Mungos Hermione would be able to Disapparate on her own and then...she would be free.

Almost tasting the freedom Hermione edged slowly down the main staircase and crossed through the drawing room and towards the final servants' corridors and staircase that would take her down to the kitchen. She could almost taste freedom.

"…Fail to see what business it is of yours Bellatrix!"

Hermione barely had enough seconds to dive into an antique cabinet that stood near the fireplace before the doors to the drawing room slammed open and through the small crack in the cabinet doors she saw Rabastan Lestrange storm in in what looked to be a towering temper.

Her heart slammed against her ribcage as she saw to her horror he was followed by none other than Bellatrix Lestrange who did not look to be in a very pleasant mood herself.

"Rodolphus and I head this family not you Rabastan" she hissed dangerously "And you would do well to remember that."

Rodolphus himself had lumbered in behind the two looking rather bored at the proceedings and tipped a healthy splash of firewhiskey into a crystal tumbler.

"Ha!" Rabastan gave a cold short laugh "And what have you ever done for the House of Lestrange. You don't even live here anymore so I fail to see how it is any concern of yours if I wish to take _my_ fiancé to see _my_ family vault."

Bellatrix drew herself up and looked at Rabastan contemptuously "I am the one to bring the House of Lestrange glory, I serve the Dark Lord at his right hand, he trusts me the most of all his followers" she said proudly "It is only because of me that you have been given Aelfreada Selwyn to marry in the first place."

"Yes you're right, it is because of you" Rabastan said and his lip curled in a way that reminded Hermione forcibly of Snape "It is because you have failed to do the one thing this family required of you, the one thing expected of a witch in your position. You have not birthed a son; you have not given us _an heir._"

The words produced an instant affect and Bellatrix slapped him hard on the cheek. There was a heavily silence and Hermione held her breath, trying not to make a sound.

"You fool." Bellatrix eventually said "There are more important things in this world than your precious heir. I will build us a better world, a pure world" she said proudly again and gave him a contemptuous look "Let Selwyn birth your precious brats by all means but she is not a member of this family so keep her out of the vault."

"I shall take her where I please" Rabastan declared and Hermione noticed that Bellatrix was beginning to grow quite red.

"You will not" she demanded

"Try and stop me" Rabastan challenged her and Hermione could see through the little sliver of light that both were now fingering their wands.

"Enough!" Rodolphus roared suddenly and Rabastan and Bellatrix stopped glaring at each other apparently very shocked at his intercession. Hermione too was rather taken aback for she had barely heard Rodolphus speak two words before that were not part of a song about Ug the Unreliable. "The Selwyn girl can go to the vault at Gringotts once she's married Rabastan and let that be an end to the matter."

Rabastan shot a look of triumph to Bellatrix who screeched "No you can't!"

"She'll be a Lestrange after the wedding" Rodolphus yawned widely "I don't see any point in bloody well stopping her."

"But Rodolphus…" She said in an almost pleading voice walking towards him where he lay on the sofa "We must protect the vault at all costs remember."

"What is this bloody obsession with the vault?" Rabastan cried out exasperated.

"I simply wish to protect your gold from untrustworthy outsiders you ungrateful brat" Bellatrix snapped aggressively

"Untrustworthy…Aelfreada's father is one of us" Rabastan exclaimed "And don't give me that rubbish about gold you've been strange about the vault for years."  
"Rabastan" Rodolphus chided tiredly

"Well she has, visiting it all the time but never spending any of the bloody money" Rabastan accused "The first thing she did when we returned from Azkaban was to demand mother take an inventory of everything in there. The woman's a hundred and two for Merlin's sake. What are you hiding in there?"

"Whether I am hiding anything in there or not is none of your business you rotten swine" Bellatrix hissed "Or do I have to remind you again that you are the second son and Rodolphus is Head of this House."

"Really because most of the time dear Bellatrix you seem to believe you have that honour" Rabastan replied scornfully "Waltzing in and out of here as you please, commanding restrictions on the vault, demanding an education for your nephew and a hiding place for your playthings."

Strangely Bellatrix gave a cold smile at this last statement "Well if you don't like my attitude then maybe you should bring it up with the Dark Lord" she suggested "Or maybe I should tell him what a casual approach you are taking to his prize?"

Her challenge got the affect she had undoubtedly hoped for as Rabastan went quiet and slightly ashen faced and Bellatrix grinned triumphantly "Now if there are no further objections I believe I'll visit the prize myself"

She flounced out of the room and as soon as she was gone Rabastan sent a jinx at one of the portraits and it burst into flame, the inhabitants screaming and running for cover in the nearby frames.

"What a load of fuss?" Rodolphus mumbled as his younger brother stormed out.

Hermione waited until she could hear his heavy snores and noticing that the polyjuice potion had worn off crept silently upstairs.

**Thank you for all your lovely reviews, I'm really eager to know what you think of this chapter so please leave a review and let me know.**


	9. The Tunnel

Hermione turned the words over and over in her mind again the next day as she polished the Lestrange's silverware in the dining room. Bellatrix had been almost frantic that Aelfreada Selwyn should not be allowed in the family vault and from how she and Rabastan had argued the witch had been obsessed with its protection for years.

'What are you hiding?' Rabastan had asked and there was something that had immediately come to Hermione's mind that would not have occurred to Rabastan. Surely a Gringott's vault, an ancient pureblooded family vault opened when the bank had been first founded, guarded by the highest security the goblins had to offer, even dragons would be the perfect place to hide a horcrux.

Hermione had remembered her first visit to Diagon Alley, her first experience of the magical world dominated by that magnificent marble white building that rose impressively over the shops making even the fine Flourish &amp; Blotts or mystical Ollivander's look shabby by comparison. Harry had said Voldemort would have hidden his horcruxes in places of great meaning; Gringotts would have been the young Riddle's first image of magic used for magnificence and power.

What's more Voldemort had hidden a horcrux with one of his followers before and after Lucius Malfoy's casual disposal of the diary and what Dumbledore had told Harry were the consequences of such carelessness it would be natural for the devoted Bellatrix to be a little…cautious about who had access.

Hermione put aside one of the candlesticks and drew the other to her as she began to vigorously rub it with polish still deep in thought. If only she knew what horcrux and then she had remembered the inventory Rabastan had mentioned, was it too much to hope for that blind Madam Lestrange had indeed had one drawn up? She could imagine Bellatrix would have been pretty insistent on it and Hermione was sure if she could just have a look at it she could work out which item was the horcrux, it would either be the cup or something of Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's.

Then there was something else, Voldemort's prize, whatever or _whoever_ it was Hermione was sure it was being hidden in Cathrack Tor. Since her arrival at the house she had begun to become aware that she was not the only captive being held here, from the mournful howl she had heard on her first night to the plain meals of bread and water she had seen Maggot prepare and secret away she was sure _something_ was being held in the dungeons. Whether it was Voldemort's prize or Bellatrix's plaything or one and the same Hermione could not be sure but a fountain of curiosity was bubbling up in her that she tried to suppress as she reminded herself that the goal had to be horcruxes. She was already playing with fire by planning to search for more information on the Lestrange's vault; anything else would be too dangerous.

"Was Crabbe Castle just not murderous enough for you Granger?" a cold voice drawled from the door to the dining room.

Hermione dropped the large plate she was polishing and it fell to the floor with a loud clang and she span around jumping up to see Draco Malfoy entering the room. She flexed the tips of her fingers itching for her wand but then she noticed something, Malfoy's face was the picture of practiced confidence but his eyes were tired and there was a hint of fear in them.

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" she asked

"Dear Uncle Rabastan's letting me use the library" he said in a voice that said he thought his uncle was anything but dear "I would have come sooner but it was more difficult than I thought to get out of Crabbe where you had gone."

"And why are you here?" Hermione asked suspiciously "I thought you said it was up to me to get myself out."

"Then why haven't you" Malfoy snapped suddenly "I meant what I said, it's all our necks on the line when they find out" and his eyes darted from side to side as though he was checking for eavesdroppers. He needn't have bothered, Rabastan was always in his study this time of day and the other members of the Lestrange family were hardly in a fit state for spying. "You're supposed to be the great Granger aren't you, smartest witch of her generation so why don't you escape?"

Hermione blinked, he almost sounded disappointed and so she said "If you want me out, then why don't you help me?" she challenged.

Malfoy took a step back and he paled "Don't be stupid Granger" he hissed.

"Who's being stupid, you said so yourself as long as I'm here you're at risk" she said calmly "As long as you're protecting my identity you are in danger."

"I'm protecting myself you stupid girl, anything else would be suicidal."

Hermione shrugged and bent down to pick up the dropped plate.

Malfoy shifted on his feet as he looked her over, he was making Hermione feel a little uncomfortable as several long seconds of silence passed.

"Was there something else Malfoy?" she huffed.

Malfoy swallowed and he finally looked her in the eye and he looked as though he was steeling himself for something "Have…have they?" he began and it looked as though it was difficult for him to even get the words out "Have Rabastan and Rodolphus…"

And Hermione realised what he was trying to ask "No" she said shortly "They haven't touched me, they treat me like a house elf."

Malfoy breathed heavily and he closed his eyes "Good" he said.

No it wasn't, she was still a prisoner Hermione thought and she huffed "Well if that was all" and she turned back to her silverware.

Suddenly she felt him grasp her wrist, not painfully but firmly all the same and Malfoy turned her around to face him, "I…" he started to say.

"Draco!" someone said sharply and Malfoy dropped his hand instantly. Rabastan was standing at the entrance to the dining room narrowing his eyes in suspicion "I'll thank you not to molest my servants if you please" he said coldly "I was under the impression you wanted to use the library which as I'm sure you'll remember is on the other side of the house."

Rabastan waited until Malfoy left the dining room and was out of earshot until he commanded to Hermione "You will tell me if he grabs you again"

Hermione blinked in surprise "Yes sir" she replied even though it had not really been a question.

oOoOoOo

Harry stared down at scrolls of parchment, plans and diagrams strewn on the clunky table he had transfigured the day before. It had a wobbly leg and still smelled like the seaweed Harry had transfigured but all in all Harry thought McGonagall would be proud.

The delicious smells of onion casserole wafted towards his nostrils from where Kreacher was cooking. It was almost startling the affect their new alliance had on Kreacher's cooking. Whereas before he had made dark grey slimy things that smelled as if they'd been rotting for several days Harry was now treated to haute cuisine which Kreacher somehow managed to conjure using the bare minimum of his rations and an open fire.

"It's no use" Harry said aloud looking at his plans. Since Mundungus had told his tale Harry had been Apparating to the Ministry entrance every morning hoping to scout out the new security measures Lupin had suggested were probably in place, the results were not promising. "I can't Apparate, I can't floo and I don't even know how to create a portkey." he said aloud.

"Master could use his disappearing cloak" Kreacher suggested stirring the bubbling pot over low flickering flames.

Harry shook his head "I'd still need one of those coins to get in" he said "And I've had a look at those toilets they use, they only open at certain times and are always packed, I'll bump into somebody for sure. If only I had some polyjuice potion"

"Kreacher could Apparate Master" Kreacher offered.

"Hey that's an..." bright shining hope appeared towards him but he trailed off as he realised a flaw in this plan "No thanks Kreacher" he said glumly "We can't take the risk that they haven't placed Disapparition wards against house elves either, plus we'd only be able to go during the dead of night otherwise we might fall on top of someone. And I guarantee that they've got the whole placed bewitched to warn them of any night-time visitors. Plus I can't let you take that risk."

Kreacher dropped his spoon into the pot with a clatter and glared at Harry with his wrinkled grey hands balled at his hips "Kreacher would gladly die to finish Master Regulus's work" he said angrily.

Harry felt a swell of emotion at the solidarity but said patiently "But I don't want you to die Kreacher. You're my last hope; I need you to pass on Regulus's work to Ron or Hermione if I die."

Kreacher sniffed and went back to cooking "And how will Kreacher find the blood traitor and mudblood?"

There was no malice in his voice but nonetheless Harry commanded in a very cold tone "Don't call them that" Kreacher looked suitably chastened "You'll find them, find the Order or go to Hogwarts where the DA is. Ron and Hermione will escape soon enough. I know they will."

He nourished this thought through each waking moment; it gave him strength to carry on with his mission alone. Tonks was right Hermione was too clever to let a Death Eater get the best of her and Ron...well Ron was too tough. Harry remembered with a faint smile the twelve year old boy with a fear of spiders who had marched into the nest of giant acromantula on the off chance it might help Hagrid. Ron had complained about it enough before, during and afterwards but Harry knew he would not hesitate to do the same thing again.

Harry looked back at the scrolls of parchment. The problem was Umbridge seemed to have special privileges and therefore did not use the lavatorial entrance to the Ministry of Magic along with the rest of the common office workers and therefore Harry could not follow her or listen to her conversations. As such he had no idea where to find her outside the Ministry.

Well...he had one idea but that was mad. A whispered conversation he had heard a witch named Mafalda Hopkirk have with her friend.

"I've never met one before but Umbridge is insisting I come and take notes except Granddad" she had moaned quietly as they had queued outside the public toilets "What in Merlin's beard do the females wear?"

But it was ridiculous, Harry could not attack Umbridge there could he? There would be security the likes of which he would never have seen before and he couldn't even guarantee she would be wearing the necklace. On the other hand there would be no wards, no Death Eaters and if he bumped into somebody with his invisibility cloak no one was likely to get suspicious and rip the thing off.

It was absolutely mad but slowly Harry smiled, it just might work.

oOoOoOo

Ron was completely and utterly bored and on the verge of counting the cracks in the ceiling of the bedroom when his door banged open and Snape entered looking very irritated.

"Get up" he said and Ron jumped to his feet and Snape stared down at his socks which had a large hole in the big toe "And put on some shoes"

"Why?" Ron asked in a panic "Are we going somewhere?"

Snape gave him a contemptuous look "I've been instructed to present you"

"What do you mean present me?" Ron demanded.

"I mean..." Snape said curling his lip and looking at Ron viciously "That the Dark Lord has given me a new mission and I have been told to take you with me."

Ron gulped, so this was it, he felt his stomach plummeting. So much for pretending to help find Hermione, the games were over, he was going to die. Before he could think any further however Snape had yanked him up and was shoving him down the stairs so he stumbled down several steps at a time and hot polluted air hit Ron's face as he was pushed out into the untidy little garden where Snape grew root vegetables and potion ingredients.

Snape gripped his upper arm tightly and turned on the spot. Suddenly everything went black and Ron felt his entire body squeezed as though he was being pressed into a tight keyhole, his bones crushed and his organs compressed. Then it was gone and he and Snape were standing in the middle of a thick forest.

Fifty foot high firs and pines blocked the sky so that the forest scene around him was lit with a ghostly green glow. The forest floor appeared to be on a steep incline as though they were halfway up a hill and large moss covered boulders were dotted around them intertwined with brambles, nettles and vines. Ron breathed down lungful's of fresh cool forest air, then he noticed something…Snape had let go of him.

Before he could think what he was doing Ron ran. Air rushed passed his ears as he leapt over boulders, swerved around trees all the while thinking forcefully that he would not die today.

"_Incarcerous_" Snape yelled and Ron heard a loud whooshing circling through the air getting louder and louder as thick coarse ropes whipped round him. He fell to the ground swallowing a mouthful of dirt as the ropes wrapped around him tighter binding his arms to his torso.

"_Accio Ronald Weasley"_ Snape commanded in a clear crisp tone and Ron was suddenly pulled upwards and yanked backwards through the trees as though being pulled like a fishing line. When he was placed on his feet Snape glared at him and said lowly and precisely "If you know what is good for you Mr Weasley…you will not be trying that again."

He pointed his wand at Ron again and Ron flinched thinking he was going to curse him tensed. But instead the ropes merely relaxed a little and a few of the bindings disappeared so that when Snape shoved Ron forward he could walk easily.

They walked down the slope and the boulders grew larger and closer together. The only sounds that Ron could hear were the small cracks as twigs snapped beneath his feet and the low breathing of Snape behind him.

"Exactly where are we going?" Ron grumbled after several minutes. The incline had become so steep now Ron needed to look for strategic footholds to step down as throw his was going down a ladder rather than a hill.

Snape did not speak for a while until "Stop" he suddenly said "We're here."

Ron looked around wondering if Snape knew where 'here' was. It just looked like more rocks and trees and then he noticed Snape was facing one of the large boulders and tracing with it with his wand in strange patterns.

His former potions professor then tapped the boulder three times and said as though it gave him little pleasure "Ginger Newt" and the boulder moved slowly aside revealing a large cavernous black hole.

Snape returned to his side and poked his wand again in Ron's back pushing him forward "After you Weasley" he said grimly.

Ron bit his lip as he walked into the darkness in the side of the hill. A soft blue light lit the way from behind him and he realised Snape had cast the _Lumos_ charm.

They climbed down several large boulders very carefully as Ron could only see a few inches in front of him until his feet finally landed on soft flat earth. Snape stepped down behind him and his wand-light cast along revealing a long winding tunnel ahead of them that fell with the hill outside. It looked suitably gloomy for the entrance to the Death Eater's headquarters Ron thought.

They walked for what felt like several hours and at first Ron resolved that if he could not escape he would meet death head held high and defiant like Mad Eye, like his uncles Fabian and Gideon Prewett. However after several miles of stumbling along he became weary and his shoulders drooped and his head begun to hang low.

"Will I at least get to see Hermione before I die?" Ron asked eventually.

"I do not know" Snape answered blandly.

Ron bristled, after everything he was still giving these stupid game playing statements "Well is she going to be wherever we're going?" he demanded.

"I highly doubt that."

Ron's stomach both plummeted and soared, he could not work out whether Snape had handed over Hermione's whereabouts to You Know Who yet or if he was still looking for her, maybe looking to take credit for capturing her himself. Ron could only hope she escaped before it happened, at least either way he would not have to live with the knowledge that he had caused her death. Then again he would be dead soon, he was sure of that.

"I thought you were high up in You Know Who's ranks" Ron said, they had now reached a long flat stretch of the tunnel and therefore Snape was now pushing them to walk much quicker. "Didn't killing Dumbledore get you any Death Eater points?"

Snape bristled behind him "Do you have a point Weasley?" he snapped.

"Well yeah I do as a matter of fact" he said "How come we have to walk miles in the dark to get to this place, don't you have access to some VIP entrance?"

"Why so eager to get there Weasley?" Snape drawled sounding a little amused "Not so long ago you were running in fear in the woods."

Ron bit his lip, he _was_ afraid but he was not about to let a git like Snape know that and so he shrugged "If I'm going to die today might as well get it over with."

"You're not going to die today" Snape drawled.

Ron blinked in surprise "But I thought, you said you had been instructed to present me."

The tunnel was getting wider now and the floor was smoother, Ron squinted and he was able to make out a stone wall at the end.

"Unfortunately I have been told that being an insufferable nuisance is not a crime that warrants capital punishment" Snape said regretfully and they were now a few steps away from the stone wall.

"But after _he's_ finished torturing me, he's not just going to let me go is he?" Ron reasoned and to his annoyance Snape ignored him and began muttering at the stone wall. The slabs began to twist and slide out of the way creating an arched entrance "Is he?" Ron demanded.

Snape placed his finger to his own pale thin lips and prodded Ron through the archway. Ron looked around and realised he was on a step halfway up a stone spiral staircase with nothing but narrow steps below and above him.

"Where are we?" Ron said in hushed tones.

"Silence" Snape snapped waving his wand and closing the archway before he began to prod Ron upstairs.

"Are we're sneaking in here?" Ron whispered now utterly confused, it he was being brought before You Know Who surely there was no cause to be quiet "I thought…"

"The thoughts of your bone idle head could probably be used as quite decent pumpkin fertiliser" Snape hissed "Now shut up and _be quiet_."

They climbed the narrow spiral staircase and Ron's heart began hammering so hard in his ribcage. He had been so sure he had been brought here to die and had spent the whole of the journey through the tunnel expecting it and preparing for it but now… It was like he was back at Spinner's End, anxiety and apprehension all wrapped up in one with no idea of what Snape intended for him.

"We are here" Snape said lowly at last and sure enough Ron stood face to face with a stone wall in the centre of which was a large square of canvas that appeared to be the back of a painting.

"Finite" Snape whispered and the ropes fell from Ron's torso and arms. For a brief second Ron realised that Snape was on the step below him and Ron could probably knock the man down the stone stairs rendering unconscious and make his escape but for some strange reason he did not do this. Snape prodded his back once more with his wand "Go in."

Ron gulped and taking a deep breath he slowly touched the canvas with his fingertips tentatively pushing it open. When he first stepped in Ron was at first blinded by brilliant sunlight and he blinked hard before he was able to see he was in a beautiful circular room where whispering portraits of wizards and witches in splendid robes lined the walls and silver instruments made strange whizzing noises on small spindly tables. Large arched windows revealed an endless dark green forest, high mountains and a glittering black blue lake beyond and to their right stood a magnificent claw footed desk.

"Ah Mr Weasley" and Ron spun around in shock to find himself staring into the twinkly eyes, that were still brilliantly blue, of the portrait of Professor Dumbledore "Welcome back to Hogwarts, I hope you don't mind that I asked Professor Snape to bring you a couple of days before the start of term."

**Thanks for all your lovely reviews so far**

**Autumn Nicole: Please do feel like you have to justify writing a polite (and useful) review with questions. I hope this chapter will help explain why Hermione didn't seize her chance to escape. Part of it is the horcrux but I think that after the experience of Crabbe Castle she probably feels the need to escape the Lestranges is less urgent by comparison - not that this is necessarily correct and this is something that will be explored and Malfoy will press her with in later chapters.**

**I hope that answers your first point, as to her being wandless when she escaped, if you go back and read the previous chapter you should see she steals Madame Lestrange's wand when she plucks hair from her head.**

**To all reviewers: Please let me know if you have any questions about the story and don't be afraid to provide negative criticism as well as positive as this is what will make me a better writer**


	10. Number Ten

Don't Apparate in the sight of a muggle. It was the first rule of Apparition, the main reason the Ministry of Magic demanded that only adult witches and wizards Apparate with a licence but then Harry Potter was never one to set much store in rules. Especially not in the fight against dark magic, especially not when as far as he could see it defeating such magic was the only way to get his friends back. And so without any regret or hesitation Harry Apparated not to a darkened alleyway or concealed undergrowth but with a loud _Crack_ to the most watched street in the United Kingdom.

The armed policemen that stood watch over Downing Street jolted into a state of alertness when they heard the loud crack scouring the street for any sign of movement and mumbling to each other in their radios. Harry stood still under his invisibility cloak not daring to breath until he was satisfied the policemen had given up the noise as a car backfiring.

He had Apparated to the street early in the morning, the sun was still rising and a faint golden glow hovered gently over the white washed government buildings and black bricked home of the Muggle Prime Minister. Even though he had been immersed in the magical world for six years now he could not help but skip a breath as he stared at the small black door with the white numbers of number ten pinned to the wood. He wondered with a smile what Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would say it they could see him now.

Harry was worried that as he had Apparated early in the morning (in order to reduce the chance of accidentally falling on top of somebody) that he would have to wait for a chance to get inside. He was therefore pleased when a cross looking man in a crisp suit and greying hair marched quickly towards the door as he talked angrily on his mobile phone.

Harry was almost too stunned at the sight of the device, of which he had never seen up close before, that he had to dash quickly across the street once he realised the man was entering the door.

"…I don't care what you think you heard I'm telling you she didn't say that" the man was saying loudly in a strong Welsh accent "Look you can quote the transcript at me all you want…" he flashed a small laminated card at the policeman guarding the door and Harry sidled in behind as they entered together "…you're not printing that."

Harry looked around at the black and white tiles, he had no clue where to go as unsurprisingly the muggle government did not advertise the layout of the Prime Minister's headquarters and so he followed the cross man along a corridor and up some stairs.

"Fuck freedom of the press!" he spat into his mobile "You print that Collins and you'll wish you've never been born…oh you do do you?" They moved quickly through a lot of small white hallways with green carpet until they reached a large office and Harry just heard the man say "Oh that's charming Collins, tell me do you talk to your mother with that voice" before he slammed the door to a private office.

Harry stayed outside not wanting to get trapped in a room. He had no clue where to go and wandered the winding corridors for several minutes dodgy in and out of people's way as they rushed about. Harry had hoped arriving at an early time would reduce the risk of accidentally bumping into anybody; clearly he was not early enough.

It was also a little startling to be surrounded by so much muggle technology, Harry's only experience of muggles for a long time had been the Dursleys and before that a small Eighties primary school and therefore he looked on with interest at the buzzing printers and large white computers that the office workers were furiously typing at, some of them eating their breakfast whilst they did so.

He reached a large room where four desks were squeezed in and a balding man with glasses was firmly tapping the side of his computer and clicking the mouse forcefully. "Jack, it's doing it again." He called.

Jack, a young bespectacled man with straight brown hair and slightly spotty complexion that suggested he had only recently left university poked his head around the door. "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" he asked

The balding man rolled his eyes "Yes, I'm not a complete dinosaur" he scoffed.

Jack muttered something about just checking as he went to have a look at the computer and began tapping away over his colleague's shoulders. A large woman in maroon blazer and matching skirt entered the room holding several large folders.

"Good you're in Malcolm, have you seen the Bosnian memo?" she asked "I need to get it to the Foreign Office ASAP."

Malcolm who was still watching Jack fiddle about with the computer said "I think the PM has it; Martin said he was going over the final draft before he left last night."

The woman breathed irritated blowing up her blond fringe "Fantastic, as if we need another row with the Foreign Office."

"It'll be in his office, just go in and get it Pauline" Malcolm shrugged "You know the PM won't be in until eight and after what the Home Secretary said on the BBC last night I highly doubt he'll care whether he gets one last look over the Bosnian memo, God knows it's been redrafted enough times."

"It's not him I'm worried about" Pauline said "What about Super Simon?"

Malcolm and Jack exchanged wary looks "Duck and roll" Jack suggested weakly

Pauline gave him an irritated look and left with Harry following her quickly. He didn't want to miss his opportunity if she really was going to the Prime Minister's office. They passed several more offices on their way there and the rooms began to look more finely furnished with mahogany furniture, velvet curtains and large paintings decorating the walls.

They approached a small white door and Pauline stopped so quickly in front of him that Harry fell onto his tip toes in the effort not to run into her. She raised a chubby manicured hand and knocked. "Come in" a low voice called that sounded oddly familiar.

Pauline and Harry entered where they saw a young black man with a long nose and thick moustache sitting at a very orderly desk and typing away quickly.

Pauline drew herself up and straightened her blazer "I need to get into the PM's office Simon, the Foreign Office have asked to see the…"

"Bosnian memo, yes I know" Simon said not looking up from his computer.

Pauline bristled "Good" she said promptly in a tone that reminded Harry horribly of Hermione when she was pretending she wasn't angry. "Then you will know how important getting it to the Foreign Secretary is and why it really can't be…"

"Delayed? Yes I know." Simon smiled and still not looking at her picked up a file and held it out to her "It's why I made sure to collect it after the Prime Minister had finished with it last night."

"Oh…thank you" Pauline said looking taken aback as she took the file and she made to leave, at the door she paused and looked back at Simon "You know Simon when Kingsley left a lot of us were very concerned that nobody would be able to fill his shoes but I must say you've done an admirable job."

Simon looked up for the first time and Harry noticed he wore a hint of a smirk "Thank you Pauline" he nodded.

"Just try to remember that we do have secret servicemen and policeman with machine guns all over the place. It's their job to protect the PM." she told him sternly with a hint of a smile "Don't make more work for yourself; you might make more friends that way."

Simon nodded again "I'll remember that Pauline" he said as she left.

The door closed behind her and Harry looked around the small office as Simon resumed his quick typing. He reckoned it was his best bet to hide out in this room until the Prime Minister arrived, if Simon was Kingsley's replacement he was sure to talk to the Prime Minister at some point today. He would then be able to stick to the leader like glue until the time was right.

Harry stepped vaguely around the small office looking at a painting of a horse pulling an old fashioned plough and a large chart which looked to map out the Prime Minister's various media appearances for the next month. Wondering what time Umbridge and Mafalda Hopkirk would be arriving Harry tiptoed behind Simon looking to see if there was a diary of some sort on his desk or computer. Harry just had enough time to notice that Simon was writing a letter to the French Ambassador when the man spun around and before Harry knew what was happening his invisibility cloak had been ripped off and a wand was pressed painfully at his jugular.

"Harry" Simon said hoarsely his eyes widening considerably.

"Hello Kingsley" Harry said smiling weakly for it was undoubtedly Kingsley. He looked younger, much younger and there were deliberate mistakes, the moustache, his nose, his eye colour but Harry would recognise that deep voice anywhere. "Mind lowering your wand?"

Kingsley lowered his wand and looked at Harry suspiciously "How did you know it was me?" he asked.

"I didn't at first" Harry admitted "But the voice…"

"Ah of course" Kingsley nodded in his rich deep tones and dropped the wand "A needless slip up, I'm afraid I'm already on a deaging potion, hair growth potion and not to mention several facial transfigurations I forgot to take my cough drops this morning." He then dug around in a small drawer next to his desk and pulled out what looked startling like cough drops before popping them in his mouth "Is that better?" his voice was higher now and had a the distinct twinge of the Midlands about it.

"Unrecognisable" Harry grinned.

"Good" Kingsley replied "Oh before I forget what form does your patronus take?"

"A stag" Harry said "And yours?"

"A lynx" Kingsley replied and he leaned back against the desk and folded his arms "So Harry how can I help you?" as though the most wanted wizard in the country popping into his office was a regular occurrence.

Harry reflected just how bizarre it was that one of the most powerful aurors he had ever met was asking him for orders.

"I need to get close to Delores Umbridge" Harry said "She's got a necklace that I need and she's meeting the Prime Minister sometime today"

To his surprise Kingsley did not question him about hunting for a necklace but instead groaned and rubbed his forehead "That will be the lunchtime exercise appointment then" he muttered and looking at the closed office door confided "I had hoped he was just having an affair"

Harry gave a weak smile "So the Death Eaters haven't met him yet then?"

"Not so far as I'm aware of and I'm aware of most things around here including the charming nicknames my colleagues give me" Kingsley said with a wry smile and then turned serious "I've had to rescue a few junior ministers from Befuddlement charms and somebody tried to put the Chancellor under the Imperio, although that can't have been an authorized attack as they haven't followed it up."

"Couldn't they be following it up now?" Harry asked "Umbridge might put the Prime Minister under the Imperius, I know she doesn't have the mark but..." he trailed off feeling queezy, they had been so busy worrying about the thousands of witches and wizards it appeared only Kingsley had been allocated to protect millions of muggles.

"No, Dumbledore always said they would leave the muggles alone at first. You Know Who will want to establish his power in our world first and in the meantime he doesn't want the muggles getting suspicious until he's ready to attack" Kingsley said "And besides as you said they'd never trust Umbridge for that."

"So the muggles are safe for now?" Harry asked

"As safe as they can be when you have scum like Nott and Crabbe demanding muggle hunting be legalised in the Wizengamot" Kingsley said darkly "The muggle government however is more or less safe for now, provided there is no reason for the Death Eaters to attack them." He looked at Harry searchingly.

"Don't worry, I have no intention of advertising my presence here" Harry said quickly "I just need the necklace and preferably to get it without Umbridge noticing."

Kingsley nodded "Very well" he said "During their meeting I'll distract the PM with some sort of national emergency, somebody made fun of him in the papers of something. In the mean time you better wait in his office, that way you won't bump into anyone if you slip in later"

"Thanks Kingsley" Harry breathed as Kingsley took a set of jingly keys from his pocket and opened the door.

"No problem, now get under that cloak, he'll be any minute"

Harry obeyed but just before Kingsley closed the door he could not help but poke his head out and ask "You haven't heard anything from Ron or Hermione have you?"

Kingsley shook his head soberly "I'm sorry Harry" and to Harry's irritation it sounded like he was giving his condolences to somebody recently bereaved. They were alive weren't they? They had to be.

Spending the morning invisible in the Prime Minister's office was not nearly as interesting as Harry would have once believed. The politician had a series of meetings in which he talked about tax banding, the National Measurement Office and sewage systems. Harry suspected that the Prime Minister was having as dull a time as Harry as when he closed the door for lunch he opened his mouth grotesquely as though he was giving a silent roar of frustration.

When the clock chimed one Harry tensed in the chair he had been sitting in as did the Prime Minister.

He began looking around frantically and wringing his hands in a very nervous disposition. He got up and then sat back down again and finally held his hands on the desk in front of him as if to convey power.

There was a small cough from a blank portrait on the wall and suddenly a wizard dressed as an Eighteenth Century muggle appeared and announced.

"Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and assistant Mafalda Hopkirk are here to see the Prime Minister for muggles."

The Prime Minister coughed nervously "Very well...very well, send them in" he said in a weak voice.

The fireplace suddenly roared to life causing the Prime Minister to flinch backwards and Harry felt a surge of irascible hate as shorty dumpy witch span into view. Dolores Umbridge had not changed in the year since Harry had saw her last, still with those gaudy pink robes and ugly fluffy cardigan she wore a horrible sickly sweet smile on as though she were visiting a sick relative she did not care for.

"Ms Umbridge is it?" The Prime Minister said getting up warily to shake her hand "Pleasure to meet you" he did not sound like it was a pleasure and looked nervously around anxiously drumming the tips of his fingers against his trouser leg "Is Scrimegeor not coming as well?"

As if to answer the fireplace roared to life once more and Mafalda Hopkirk stumbled out brushing soot off her robes. She evidently had decided to forgo muggle dress, Harry wondered if this was her decision or Umbridge's.

"I'm afraid Rufus has resigned poor dear" Umbridge said squeezing herself into one of the armchairs by the fire "Overwork I'm sorry to say."

The prime minister raised eyebrows "Oh dear, after only a year" he said sitting down "Is the war really as bad as all that?"

Umbridge gave a tinkling little laugh "Oh good heavens no! I'm afraid Rufus was a little paranoid at some things, he exaggerated a lot if the times about this so called war" and then she meant in further and said in a loud whisper "A sign of his illness you know"

Mafalda had also taken a seat and took a long roll of parchment out and quill and began to take notes.

"So you...you are the new Minister, for Magic I mean" The prime minister said trying to comprehend.

Umbridge gave another soft little laugh "Oh goodness heavens no, little me" she tried to pull this off in a show of modesty but Harry saw the gleam in her eye that said she had definitely though about it. "The new Minister of Magic is a colleague of mine, Pius Thicknesse. A dear chap, he would have met you himself if he was not so busy."

"Indeed" the prime minister said and Harry noticed his nervousness seemed to have been replaced by indignation that he was being met by an underling rather than the actual head of government. "This war, Scrimegeour and Fudge seemed to think if was both rather bad."

"A mere skirmish I assure you Minister" Umbridge said "Brought about by the murderer Sirius Black and his accomplice Harry Potter, but Black is dead now."

The prime minister frowned as though he was trying to remember something "I though the Potter boy was one of the good ones"

"Do good boys kill their headmasters?" Umbridge sang.

So that was their story for trying to capture him Harry realised angrily and he gripped his wand tighter hoping it would not be long until Kingsley interrupted them.

The prime minister looked rather shocked at this news "Gracious me" he said "No I suppose they don't."

"Precisely" Umbridge said with a wide smile "Now not to fear the war is over but Potter is out there and potentially mad and dangerous. We were hoping in the spirit of magic and muggle cooperation to ask you to get your peasmen..."

"Policeman" the prime minister automatically corrected.

"Of course" Umbridge waved away "As I was saying if you could get your peasmen to be on the lookout, we would be most grateful."

The prime minister ummed and erred "Look if the boy's a killer obviously I want him caught" he rationalised "It's just getting a bit suspicious that I keep going to the Home Secretary and asking her for favours without any evidence or proof to back it up and God knows Margaret isn't exactly being cooperative at the moment."

Umbridge twitched ever so slightly "Prime Minister I can assure you that finding Potter is of utmost importance to the safety of this country."

"But you just said this war was over" the prime minister argued "You folks never tell me anything, if I just knew more about the boy or the war or anything. You come in here when you feel like saying do this do that, add wizards to my staff and then take them away without a days' notice. Do you know my office ground to a snail's pace when Kingsley suddenly packed up and left, I don't think a little forewarning is too much to ask..."

He stopped and went quite white; sparks were shooting out of Umbridge's wand. "You dare…you dare speak to me in that way muggle" she hissed "I am a witch."

"Well good for you" the Prime Minister spluttered looking rather undone "And I'm the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the First Lord of the Treasury thank you and I think you'll find that my opinion carries a little more weight than Ministers be they for Transport or Mag…"

The phone rang and Harry gave a huge internal sigh of relief silently thanking Kingsley profusely. Umbridge was gripping the sides of her chair angrily looking as though she was having a hard time restraining herself and Harry was sure that the muggle Prime Minister was only a few words away from getting himself cursed.

"Yes what is it?" The Prime Minister snapped and whatever was being said on the other end made him go red rather quickly "Margaret's said _what_? Isn't the Home Office bloody enough for her…yes, yes I'm coming" and he slammed the phone down again.

Umbridge had used the few seconds of relief to compose herself and was now wearing another sickly sweet smile although Harry could see now the hateful and dark thing that lurked behind her eyes more clearly than ever.

"I'm so sorry to cut our meeting short but I'm required to sort out a situation with one of my colleagues" The Prime Minister said tightly "I hope you don't mind if I don't see you out" he looked with apprehension at the fireplace and muttered "Bloody thing gives me the creeps."

"Of course not" Umbridge sang "We must reschedule some time."

"Indeed" The Prime Minister said his lips even tighter and as though he could not wait to get out of the room quick enough left the office. The second the door had been closed Umbridge rounded on Mafalda.

"Of all the nerve" she huffed "He a _muggle,_ speaking to me in that way. If he only knew…" she promised "If he only knew…"

"Yes err…" Mafalda did not seem to know what to say to this statement "I suppose he could have been politer."

"Politer!" Umbridge shrieked "I've met werewolves with better manners than that, but no worries things are changing. We shall not have to placate the muggles forever, once Potter and his allies are captured I am sure the Minister will do his utmost to end this ridiculous farce we carry out with the muggles and put them in their proper place."

"Indeed" Mafalda said looking rather uneasy.

Umbridge seemed to have noticed her tone and said in what she may have considered to be a motherly tone "There, there Malfalda" she cooed "No one at the Ministry blames you for your unfortunate blood status and I promise I will be as fair as I always am when I question your father on Tuesday."

Mafalda gave a large gulp as though she knew exactly what this meant and said in barely more than a whisper "Thank you Dolores"

"It is the least I can do for a colleague…and a friend as well perhaps" Umbridge hinted before clapping her hands together "And now we must return to the Ministry for there are more mudbloods than just your father to interrogate"

Harry's eyes widened in alarm as she strode over to the fireplace and extracted some powder from her handbag which she threw into the hearth and shot brilliant emerald flames. Thinking quickly he uttered a spell in Umbridge's direction.

Umbridge made to step into the fire but was jerked back quickly "Oh dear" she said tugging at her robe "It appears to be caught in the floorboards, shoddy muggle craftsmanship" she muttered and then as Harry hoped she would do waved to Mafalda "You go ahead dear, I'll be right behind you."

Harry waited until Mafalda had called out 'Ministry of Magic' and spun out of view before he crept round behind Umbridge and whispered "Stupefy".

A jet of red light shot from his wand and shot her squarely in the back. Harry wasted no time; he threw off his invisibility cloak and ran to her side yanking off the horcrux locket from her wide neck. Remembering Kingsley's words and not wanting to hasten any potential conflict between the Death Eaters and the Muggle Government Harry created a copy of the locket so Umbridge would not miss it and reluctantly revived her making sure to modify her memory before she left.

Harry then thought of the Hut on the Rock, Kreacher's cooking and Ginny's photo and Disapparated with a loud crack that gave Super Simon in the office next door a small smile.

**Thank you for your reviews, please let me know what you think of this chapter**


	11. Hogwarts Again

Ron lurched back a couple of steps struggling to maintain his balance as he stared into the misty silver vapour of the Pensieve. He looked around at Snape who sat very quietly at the Headmaster's desk with his fingers steepled and at Dumbledore who sat forward eagerly in his painting. He could hardly believe what he had just seen.

"But...but" he spluttered trying to formulate a response "Why?"

"As you have just seen Mr Weasley and as I explained earlier…I was dying" Dumbledore said calmly.

"So Snape had to _kill you?_" Ron said agog, he had barely said a word to the Headmaster before, had been greatly intimidated by the man but after what he had just seen there seemed to be no room in his head for nerves "Couldn't you have just gone to St Mungos?"

Dumbledore chuckled at that "And where would that have left poor Mr Malfoy, in my last act on this world I was able to save, with Professor Snape's help of course, an innocent young soul from a terrible irreversible fate. I cannot think of a better way to go."

Ron snorted at the description of Malfoy as innocent; he also noticed Snape likewise did not seem quite in agreement. He had not spoken much since Ron had arrived in Dumbledore's office (and he would always think of it as Dumbledore's) but had merely sat darkly staring off to the left at the sleek black raven that now occupied Fawkes's perch.

"But why didn't you tell anyone?" Ron asked.

"Because if Tom found out it was I and not he that orchestrated my death he would kill Professor Snape" he gave a heavy sigh "I was not prepared to take that risk with Severus' life much less the risk of having nobody at Hogwarts to protect the students from whichever followers Tom decides to send as well. Speaking of which Severus do you know who will be joining us this year?" he added conversationally.

"The Carrows" Snape said dryly turning his head back from the raven to face Dumbledore once more "Amycus will be taking the Dark Arts whilst Alecto will take Muggle Studies"

"You're carrying on with Muggle Studies?" Ron asked in surprise, he would have thought that would be the first subject to go under the new regime.

"Alecto assures me she intends to make a few curriculum changes" Snape said grimly more to Dumbledore than Ron and the portrait shuddered.

"We must hope the war does not last too long" Dumbledore said "I fear the damage they will cause on young minds may last a life time"

This thought appeared to weigh heavily on his mind but Ron was more interested in the subterfuge that had just been revealed. He rocked back on his heels, he felt like it should be Harry here, in the Headmaster's office finding out the secrets of war not him. The whole thing seemed backwards.

"So why did you tell me?" he asked quietly "About what really happened, I mean."

"Well if you are going to be staying here at Hogwarts I rather thought it would be prudent if you did not have any sudden urges to hurt your host" Dumbledore said calmly

"I'm staying here" Ron said struggling not to gulp in apprehension and his eyes darted nervously to the staircase behind the desk which undoubtedly led to the Head's quarters.

"Unless you have somewhere else you would rather go?" Snape sneered "Trust me Weasley I am no happier about the living arrangements than you are."

Ron tried to think of an alternative "Are all the members of the Order in hiding?" he asked.

"No not all. Several Order members still have their liberty including Professor McGonagall, Hagrid and my old friend Elphias Doge" Dumbledore answered "There are also friends of the Order that can be contacted, Miss Johnson and Miss Spinnet for example are running Weasley Wizarding Wheezes in your brothers absence and I am sure they would able to direct you to the proprietors."

"Right" Ron said confidently now feeling a surge of happiness that he might soon see his family again, "I would like to..."

"I however would prefer for you to remain here" Dumbledore said firmly "There is information that I did not manage to convey to Harry about how to defeat Tom. I have asked Professor Snape to pass it on however it would be useful if there was a conduit to protect Severus from Harry's wrath when the time comes"

Ron expected Snape to make a derogatory comment at the idea Harry could successfully curse him but instead he noticed his former Potions professor had gone rather pale.

"Why can't I tell Harry?" Ron asked "I could go back home right now and tell him"

"I have decided Professor Snape should bare this news" Dumbledore said firmly and when Ron made to protest spoke over him "I think you have enough to be getting on with, besides you will not find Harry with the Order."

"I won't?"

"The fool of a boy thinks he can defeat the Dark Lord on his own" Snape sneered

"Severus" Dumbledore warned in a serious voice and Ron realised that whilst he did not know what Dumbledore's message to Harry was Snape did not know about the horcruxes "I do not think we can expect Mr Potter to sit around under the protection of the Order whilst his friends are in danger. I overheard just a couple of days ago from Professors McGonagall and Hagrid that he has absconded from the care of Remus and Nymphadora Lupin."

"Oh" Ron said, he did not know whether to feel disappointed that Harry had not waited or scared for his friends safety so instead he just asked "And what about Hermione?"

Dumbledore looked at him sadly "I am afraid there is no further news on Miss Granger's whereabouts other than what Professor Snape has already told you" he said "Unless you found anything at Crabbe Castle last night Severus? From my experience Bardus Crabbe would appear to be a prime candidate for such a crime"

Snape shook his head "Both Crabbe and his son were dining elsewhere but his wife let me in" he related more to Dumbledore than Ron "She is not the brightest of women and I was able to make a full survey of the lower floors and dungeons, Miss Granger was not to be found in the Castle or Mrs Crabbe's head."

Ron did not know whether to be happy or not, that Snape had not found Hermione chained up as Crabbe's plaything.

oOoOoOo

The room that had once been the study of Madam Lestrange was coated with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs so layered stretched across the window many times over darkening the room considerably. It was clear that neither Madam Lestrange nor Maggot had been in a fit state to attend the room in many years.

Hermione doubted she would find anything much less the inventory list Bellatrix had demanded in here but it seemed foolish not to check. After all the horcrux had likely been in the Lestrange Vault for many years and maybe Madam Lestrange had left something incriminating when she had still been able to climb the steep spiral staircase. It was also the easiest room she could rummage in without the off chance of a member of the household stumbling upon her.

However after a couple of hours Hermione had found nothing but old banquet invitations, gardening receipts and what looked like very old parchment showing the wedding plans for Bellatrix and Rodolphus. Where else could she look Hermione wondered? The ideal place would be Rabastan's study but the Death Eater himself would likely be in there not to mention she was sure it was well protected and she did not have a wand. Creeping down the spiral staircase she trod the warm carpeted hallways to the library.

The Lestrange library was something Hermione had marvelled on, at least two floors high it teamed with books from frayed old tomes to sleek shiny volumes that looked to have only been bought a couple of weeks ago. Books on everything from botany to banshees to a history of the wizarding politics of Botswana, Hermione was itching to open them. But there was something else in the library, portraits…and lots of them. The whispering ancestors of the Lestrange family through history did not talk much but Hermione felt their eyes on her as she cleaned and she dare not risk any behaviour that did not befit a squib servant lest they report back to the Lestranges.

Now that she knew the Lestranges were potentially hiding something that could bring about the death of Voldemort she was prepared to be a bit more daring and made her way to the library thinking she could have a bit of a search whilst under the guise of a thorough clean.

Stepping into the library Hermione took a deep breath filling her lungs with the wonderful smell of books, catching the eye of a suspicious looking Victorian wizard she hurriedly took her duster to one of the large polished desks that littered the room thinking about where to search first. She was just wondering whether to chance her luck at the desk drawers when she realised that a door off the east end of the library was open showing a small room beyond. Hermione frowned, that door was never opened.

Unable to stifle her curiosity Hermione ignored the murmuring portraits and walked slowly into the room, it was small and circular and also filled with books. It was however the open book on the small desk that caught Hermione's eyes though, it was old, even medieval, the first letter of the chapter, a 'T' was heavily illustrated with golden garlands, sapphire birds and kneeling angels. The angels and birds were not moving.

Hermione held her breath; this was a muggle drawing, what on earth a muggle book doing in the Lestrange library. She gently turned a couple of the pages, terrified of damaging the fragile parchment and saw that other similar illustrations were as still as stone. Then a name caught her eye, 'Thomas Becket', Hermione frowned surely that didn't refer to who Hermione thought it did. Becket had been a muggle hadn't he, there was no record of him in any of the History of Magic books she had read.

"Get your hands off that now" a cold voice commanded behind her.

Hermione jumped and span around to see Rabastan Lestrange staring daggers at her.

"I…I'm sorry sir" Hermione stuttered.

"Stupid squib" he muttered angrily striding towards the book and shoving her out of the way to examine the pages "If you've torn any of the pages…"

"I tried to careful sir…I'm sorry I've never seen a book that pretty before" she ventured trying to come up with an explanation as to why simple Maud the squib would be tempted by the elaborately decorated tome.

"That's because muggles don't make them like this anymore" Rabastan muttered bitterly "They created a machine and suddenly they can turn out books like a Gemino charm. All the artistry, all the craftsmanship has been lost…I don't suppose you've even heard of Thomas Becket."

Hermione frowned, if he had asked a witch or wizard they would have said no but Hermione like every muggle school child in the country had grown up with the story of the hot tempered King who had his best friend murdered by accident or intent depending on the teacher's point of view.

"He…he was the Archbishop of Canterbury sir" she said, she knew she should try and escape the conversation as soon as possible but the curiosity was too much.

Rabastan whipped around and looked at her in consternation.

"We learnt about it at the muggle school" she said "He was murdered by knights believing they were acting on the wishes of Henry II"

Rabastan looked at her as though sizing her up "You were taught about this in muggle school?" he said with surprise.

Hermione nodded "It's quite a famous story sir. A King killing an archbishop, muggles take their religion very seriously sir."

"So I've noticed from reading their records" Rabastan muttered but he did not sound disgusted as she had expected more interested "I don't suppose they told you the reason Becket was killed, why he fell out with the King?"

Hermione struggled to think, racking her brains through all the lessons she had had with Binns but could not think of anything that would apply and so fell back on what her primary school teacher had recited "Ecclesiastical courts sir, Henry wanted the clergy to be tried by secular courts but Becket insisted in maintaining a separate judiciary."

Rabastan smirked "Very dry and very wrong" he said.

"But…" Hermione stuttered, surely if there was an alternative story behind Becket's death she would have heard about it.

"The truth is a little bit more interesting" he exclaimed and reverently turned the pages of the old tome beckoning Hermione over to look at a full still page illustration of a bishop, a King and what was unmistakably a wizard in fine purple robes and a long magical staff. "Yes they fell out over ecclesiastical courts at first but there was someone else" he pointed to the wizard "That is my ancestor Drogothar Lestrange."

Hermione looked at the illustration closely, painted in the medieval style it was not very realistic but she noticed Drogothar had the same purple eyes as his descendants. She was so interested she did not even become nervous that she was now standing shoulder to shoulder with Rabastan.

"What happened sir?" she asked "If you don't mind me asking."

"The church had been a thorn in my ancestor's side for many years, always whispering in the King's ear. They demanded that the Wizard's Council present lists of dangerous wizards to the King, that the Council provide protection to muggle towns as well as magical towns from giants and werewolves" Rabastan said in derision "It is because of Becket and his like that the Ministry of Magic now wastes most of our gold hiding magical creatures. So when the King and his cleric fell out Drogothar seized his chance."

"He took an army and surrounded Canterbury with it demanding that Becket hand the Cathedral over. Becket refused and so Drogothar gathered reinforcements, he imperiod many of the King's own knights and bought dragons." Rabastan turned a few more pages over the book and pointed to a section of the old script and quoted "_Fire raineth down on the temple of Christ such as neither knight nor knave had seen before…"_

Hermione held her breath "Then what happened."

"The King arrived of course" Rabastan snorted "Henry did not arrive in time to save Becket from a fiery death but he and his army along with several different minded members of the Wizard's Council managed to subdue the forces and protect the cathedral from destruction. Drogothar claimed the King had ordered the attack although Henry denied it, it is impossible to definitively say who told the truth."

"And Drogothar, what happened to him."

"Oh he was sentenced to death naturally" Rabastan said casually "He managed to escape though and lived out the remainder of his days in hiding in Burgundy."

Hermione looked back at the book, from Rabastan's tone as he had told her the story she did not think he would mind if she asked a further question. "The book…" she ventured "Why is it muggle?"

"Because their history is our history and that unfortunately is something the witches and wizards of today fail to grasp." He said bitterly "Whether they be at Hogwarts or in the Dark Lord's ranks nobody wants to hear the tales of muggle Kings and clergy, no matter that it set muggle magical relations to their direst state in three hundred years. As far as the morons out there are concerned we live in two separate worlds"

He ran his hand through his curly black hair and then suddenly exclaimed "Except we don't, they come into our world and you squibs go into theirs. How can we ever obtain true knowledge if we only hear one side of the story?"

Hermione stared at him; it was easy to forget that the man that seemed to speak so rationally who took such excitement in muggle history could be a Death Eater. However his next statement reminded her.

"It will not always be like that though" he promised her "Soon the Dark Lord will unite our worlds once more."

She looked down not really knowing how to respond to such a statement "I think I better get on with my cleaning sir"

"Hold on a moment Maud now I have a little question" Rabastan asked and Hermione's stomach dropped, he was going to ask her why she had been poking around, he hadn't believed her earlier story "I don't suppose that muggle school told you who created the first elected body in England."

At this Hermione really was confused, she wasn't even aware wizards knew the concept of elected officials and so she took a guess "Not Simon De Monfort sir?"

"Ha!" Rabastan laughed "So the muggles think it was that swashbuckling show off do they?" He walked over to the bookshelves and plucked off a smaller blue book "Read this and let me know what you think"

"I…I…" Hermione stumbled, a book of her own, she daren't take anything from her beaded bag that was not necessary in case it was found out and had therefore not read anything in weeks "Thank you sir" she said sincerely.

oOoOoOo

"Diffindo!" Harry yelled. The locket was blasted up into the air before it fell on the wooden floor with a loud smack.

Harry sighed in frustration and stepped closer to the Horcrux "Reducto" he bellowed.

The force of the spell ripped a hole in the side of the hut, sent wooden planks flying in disarray and Kreacher charging in from the main room looking worried and holding his trusty saucepan aloft. The locket remained undented.

"Sorry Kreacher" Harry said bending down to pick up the locket, it was heavy and icy cold despite the fact Harry had set it on fire mere moments earlier. He put it back round his neck for safe keeping and felt his spirits sink at his lack of success - if only he had the sword.

"Not to worry Master" Kreacher said waving his hands to the hole in the side of the hut's bedroom to repair itself. "But maybe you try somewhere else in future."

"There's no point trying anywhere else, ordinary magic will not break this" Harry explained

Kreacher looked down fallen "But master must destroy Master Regulus's locket" he insisted "Master has only had it a few hours, could try again."

Harry sighed wishing it was that easy and endeavoured to explain to the house elf "Kreacher when Voldemort made this he used the darkest magic there..." He stopped, Kreacher had gone deathly white.

"Master said the name" he whispered fearfully "Master broke the taboo."

Harry's eyes widened in realisation "Come on" he said running around throwing what little stuff they did have into his rucksack "We have to get out of here"

Kreacher stood apparently frozen in fear "They are coming" he whispered anxiously "They are coming"

Harry darted to the mantelpiece tipping the remainder of the food into his bag and then running back into the bedroom to slide the picture on Ginny into his jean pocket.

Three loud cracks echoed outside.

"Kreacher we have to go" Harry said grabbing the house elf.

A loud banging sounded on the frail timber door to the hut "Open up" someone shouted

Harry turned on the spot but nothing happened.

"Kreacher they've put a jinx up to stop me from Disapperating" Harry whispered urgently "You have to get us out of here" the elf appeared petrified by terror "I order you!"

"OPEN UP!" someone boomed again "There's no point hiding we've got the place surrounded"

Harry's order appeared to have snapped Kreacher out of his trance and he at last focused his gaze on Harry and turned on the spot.

Nothing happened. What was going on, house elves could always Apparate where wizards could not. Kreacher and Harry stared at each other in apprehension.

There was a loud banging at the door again and the whole hut began to shake. Then there was a blasting sound and light spilled underneath the bedroom door.

"Where are they then?" another man with a thick Essex accent said.

Harry realised what he had to do and leaning down he whispered "Kreacher you have to go, I reckon you can get out on your own" he said and the elf shook his head wildly "I order you"

"Kreacher cannot leave master" the elf moaned

"Kreacher this is not a request it is an order" Harry whispered quickly his eyes darted nervously towards the door.

"Maybe they went out the window" the third wizard was saying, he sounded young, not much older than Harry.

"Kreacher I order you to go and hide and do whatever you have to stay safe" Harry said forcefully.

Kreacher looked as though he was going to burst into tears but he did not stay anything. Instead the grey old elf held up his fingers, clicked then and vanished into nothingness.

"You moron" the loud wizard commanded "Let's check in there."

Harry took a deep breath. The handle of the door began to turn.

"REDUCTO!" he yelled and the entire wall that separated the bedroom from the main room collapsed with a gigantic crash. A cloud of dust and wooden particles filled the air and Harry coughed heavily as he scrambled his way out the bedroom window and onto the slippery rocks below.

He climbed and jumped over them and threw himself into the small boat tied up nearby before he heard painful coughing behind him.

"There he is" the Yorskire Death Eater yelled, his shadowy figure emerging from the dust "He's getting away."

Curses shot through the air at Harry who lay low in the boat, he deflected them as best he could creating huge splashes as the spells rebounded into the still sea.

Harry shot another shield charm which threw the Death Eaters backwards giving him enough time to cut the rope tying the boat to the rocks and propel him and it through the water.

He heard the Death Eaters yells from behind him and although they were out of range saw a few curses flung.

When Harry was sure he was out of the anti-apparition jinx's range he Disapparated once more. He was on the run again.

**Please read and review and let me know if I've engaged you at all and what you like (or don't like) about this chapter and story in general.**


	12. Drogothar's Escape

Ron stared out at the inky black lake, there was no moon tonight and so the lanterns from the boats coming towards the castle shone brightly like stars in a vacuum of light. He followed the little boats on their journey for a while before he drifted his gaze downwards, directly below the Headmaster's tower and onto the lawn below.

Light from the castle spilled out onto the lawn as a wave of the older students moved into the castle looking like a swarm of ants from Ron's high vantage point. Maybe it was because Ron knew what was in store (because he couldn't possibly tell from this distance) but the students seemed to move solemnly and more slowly as if they dreaded every step they took. Meanwhile the horseless carriages that had dropped off their charge trundled back down the path the Hogwarts gates and Ron wondered how long it would be before he saw the Thestrals that pulled them. Snape said he would probably have to kill someone soon.

"Do you wish you were among them?" The picture of Dumbledore asked from the wall. The Head's Tower was built to house not only the Headmaster or Headmistress of the day but any family they had as well. Ron had had his pick of the comfortable bedrooms that had not been used since Professor Dippet's day and he now sat on the large window seat from where he looked back to the empty frame that Dumbledore had just walked into.

"No sir" Ron said honestly although still feeling a little guilty for saying such a thing in front of his former Headmaster "It wouldn't be the same without Harry or Hermione."

"There is nothing colder than the absence of friends" Dumbledore replied. "Except perhaps the wrong pair of socks."

Ron didn't know what to say, he supposed Harry must have understood the Headmaster's idiosyncrasies more easily. He stared back out the window.

"They'll be fewer students this year won't there?"

Dumbledore gave a heavy sigh. "Yes." He confirmed wearily.

"That's why they wanted the cells empty when I was at the Ministry…for the muggleborns" Ron realised looking back at Dumbledore, the old man's eyes had lost their twinkle "What about the new muggleborns, will the Death Eaters get them as well?" His blood went cold at the thought of what would have to those innocent eleven year olds.

"Both the Ministry and Hogwarts have ways of detecting new witches and wizards" Dumbledore told him "I have left their protection in the hands of Professor McGonagall, I do not believe she will fail them."

Ron breathed a sigh of relief, that at least was comforting news.

"As for the rest…" Dumbledore trailed off sadly "Well we know Harry has at least one horcrux, which leaves only three to go."  
Ron's eyes widened, how could he have been so stupid? Dumbledore didn't know, of course he didn't know…Ron should have told him the moment Snape had left for the Start of Term Feast.

"Sir" he gulped and said hoarsely "The locket you and Harry got…it was a fake."

Dumbledore looked briefly alarmed before his face morphed into a serene yet serious expression "I think you better tell me everything Mr Weasley"

Ron told him the story of the fake locket and the note they had found inside "…and we still have no idea where the real horcurx is or what this R.A.B. did with it. We don't even know who he is, Hermione and I looked in loads of books but we couldn't find anyone who fit."

"I think I may have an idea" Dumbledore said calmly

"You do?" Ron's heart leapt, if he could somehow make himself useful, maybe help Harry find one of the horcruxes. He swing his legs of the window seat and sat facing Dumbledore eagerly, his fingers curled over the cushions as if ready to spring him up so he could go for the horcrux tonight

Dumbledore nodded "I never forget a student, Regulus Arcturus Black who showed a particular kindness to the magical creatures of this castle and despite his desire to impress his family never much struck me as Death Eater material."

"Sirius's brother?" Ron questioned "You reckon he found out about the horcruxes."

"It seems possible" Dumbledore said "Of course it only an old man's suggestion."  
Ron remembered what Lupin had once said about Dumbledore's shrewd ideas usually proving to be accurate then he remembered something.

"Regulus died though, years ago" Ron said "Sirius is dead too, I suppose I could go back to Grimmauld Place and look but…"

"Oh I do not think that will be necessary" Dumbledore said his voice like Ron's had become a bit more jovial on the discovery that Regulus might have taken the real horcrux "There should be somebody else in the castle that may have information for us…Kreacher!"

Nothing happened.

Dumbledore frowned and Ron looked around for the Black family house elf.

"Hmm…" Dumbledore said in contemplation "Perhaps the Hogwarts house elves do not respond to those of us of a two dimensional nature, I suppose we do not need feeding or cleaning up after." He mused "Mr Weasley would you mind?"

"Kreacher!" Ron called.

Still nothing happened.

"Could it be because I am not a student or member of staff sir?" Ron suggested.

"I can't imagine so, you are a resident of the castle" Dumbledore frowned and stroked his beard apparently thinking "I must say this is rather strange...Dobby!"

There was a loud crack and the strange house elf appeared. Ron was pleased to see he was wearing one of Ron's old Weasley maroon jumpers that he had been given a few years ago as well as a pair of fluorescent yellow shorts.

Dobby's face lit up at the site of Ron "Mr Wheezy sir, Dobby is so happy to see you again, so happy to see the friend of Harry Potter and honoured too…" he stopped and his enormous pale green eyes widened suddenly "Oh but you is not being here Mr Wheezy, Hogwarts is a dangerous place now" he sunk his high voice down to a whisper "There is dark wizards in the castle, Mr Wheezy must go now for his own safety."

"I can assure you Dobby Mr Weasley is quite safe within this tower."

Dobby whirled round and his eyes grew so large Ron thought they might burst out of his skull at the sight of Dumbledore "Professor Dumbledore sir…you is awake" he marvelled "The teachers…Dobby knows he should not eavesdrop on members of staff…but they is saying you is always sleeping."

"Alas a necessary subterfuge" Dumbledore said, Ron couldn't help but be a little bit irritated by this, they and Harry especially could have used a little bit of help from the portrait before they had left for the summer.

Dobby appeared to feel the same way "They is most upset about it sir" he said this in a respectful manner but there was a definite note of accusation in his voice.

Nevertheless Dumbledore merely smiled "I dare say they are, however that is a conversation for another day" he said firmly "Now Dobby, Mr Weasley and I were wondering if we may count on your assistance in a small matter"

Dobby perked up at the mention he could be of service "Of course Professor Dumbledore sir, Dobby is always willing to help the honoured Professor and friend of Harry Potter."

"Dobby we're looking for Kreacher" Dumbledore said "We need to ask him some questions but he won't answer when we call."

Dobby looked suddenly crestfallen "But Kreacher is gone sir."

"Gone?" Ron said in alarm "What do you mean gone, I thought Harry had ordered him to serve the school…surely he can't just go without permission?"

"But Kreacher had permission Mr Wheezy sir" Dobby said earnestly "Kreacher was summoned away by his master a last week."

Summoned by his master, Ron puzzled but that meant…

The portrait on the wall chuckled "It appears Harry is one step ahead of us Mr Weasley" Dumbledore said.

oOoOoOo

Harry jerked awake his scar burning painfully. He felt sweat gather on his forehead as he remembered the look of terror on Gregorovitch's face as Voldemort had murdered him.

The sky outside was a dark ugly brown, it was the middle of the night but the air was thick with light pollution in the city Harry had travelled to and the windows of the empty abandoned flat he slept were flecked with black specks. A siren sounded distantly somewhere on the ground far below and Harry thought about what he had just seen. Voldemort wanted something, something that had been stolen long ago from Gregorovitch. Harry did not recognise the thief in the old wand maker's memory but he was sure whoever the young man was he did not have long to live.

Harry lit his wand and pulled the photo of Ginny he had propped up against the wall closer to him as he snuggled closer within his sleeping bag. If not for the fact she was in hiding with the Weasleys and he was on the run they would have arrived at Hogwarts a couple of days ago, was she thinking of him Harry wondered. How was she coping locked up with her family, was she resentful at Harry for dragging her family into this mess?

The thought clutched at Harry's heart painfully but he could not help but think there must be a part at least of Ginny that regretted her association with him; it must do after all the times he had got her into danger. The Chamber of Secrets, the night of Dumbledore's murder…

Dumbledore he thought, he was quite sure if his old Professor could see Harry now he would be deeply disappointed, Harry was no closer to finding any new horcruxes or destroying the one he already had. But then he couldn't help but think angrily that Dumbledore should have prepared him better for this…this task it was too difficult.

Maybe that's why Ron and Hermione weren't here he wondered bitterly. Maybe all that talk of them sticking with him through to the end was just that - talk. He couldn't help but wonder if they hadn't escaped and were together somewhere, maybe Australia, living their life peacefully and happily…without him.

oOoOoOo

"You're still here?" Malfoy exclaimed incredulously

Hermione calmly closed the copy of _The Winter Wizard's War: Warlock Wendall and John of Gaunt_ and put it on the bedside table before returning to changing the bedding in one of the many guest rooms of Cathrack Tor. She no longer feared Malfoy, he had kept her secret too long to be any serious threat and the idea of him now revealing her seemed farfetched.

"How very observant of you" Hermione said dryly beginning to unfold clean sheets.

Malfoy strode into the room looking determined "Do you not listen to anything I say…you need to get out of here for both our sakes" he hissed.

"Fine I'll just hand in my notice to the Lestranges shall I?" Hermione suggested sarcastically spreading the sheet over the bare mattress and started to tuck it under "Just walk out the door?"

"Steal a wand, the old bat upstairs is practically asking for it. You're not telling me you can't outfox her?" Malfoy accused "Imperio the house elf, kick Lestrange in the groin, just do _something_ Granger. This is not a joke."

"I am well aware it is not a joke Malfoy" Hermione said primly "But I can't go yet."

Malfoy looked agog at this statement and he snatched the sheet from her hands and threw it down on the bed apparently angry that she could carry on so calmly "If they find out they will kill you" he said very slowly and deliberately "You have to go now."

"They won't find out. Who's going to tell them…you?" she scoffed "And if they do find out, then I'll escape"

"Granger have you gone absolutely mental?" Malfoy hissed and he grabbed her hand so she was forced to look at him, he looked quite desperate. Hermione felt a little guilty at the risk he was taking talking to her like this but she really couldn't tell him why she needed to stay and what might be in the Lestrange's vault "Even if they don't find out who you are do you think you're safe here? They are _Death Eaters_."

"And so are you" Hermione reminded him coldly "And unlike you they have yet to curse me."

Malfoy flinched "That doesn't mean they won't"

"They haven't hurt me yet" Hermione said "Honestly Rodolphus is unconscious most of the time and Rabastan isn't that bad"

"Not that bad?" Malfoy said incredulously "The only reason I'm allowed to come here is because Bellatrix has convinced the Dark Lord that I need to become a proper Death Eater. You see compared to the Lestrange Brothers Lucius Malfoy is soft" he spat

"Yeah well no offence Malfoy but your aunt is more than a few seeds short of a pumpkin"

"Bellatrix spent fifteen years in Azkaban, of course she's mad" Malfoy scoffed "Rodolphus drinks fifteen barrels a day, Rookwood talks to the gargoyles and yet Rabastan appears as sane as you or I... Don't you think that's a little strange?"

"I…" Hermione had never thought about it before but it was strange. Even Sirius who had spent most of his Azkaban sentence as a dog had hardly escaped with his sanity completely intact.

"Do you know how he remained sane? Bellatrix told me." He continued in almost a taunting manner "He used to knock his head against the cell walls every night, bash his own brains in until he lost consciousness…he spent most of his sentence in a coma."

Hermione blanched at the image wondering what kind of stomach you would have to have to do that to yourself "That was just self-preservation" she said, she felt the urge to defend herself "It doesn't make him evil."

"And what about what happened to Longbottom's parents?" Malfoy spat once more "Does that make him evil?"

Her stomach caved in "I…I…" she stuttered, there was nothing really she could say to this statement yet she tried to think of something, anything that would justify her previous words "That was mostly Bellatrix though wasn't it."

"Why, because she brags about it the most?" Malfoy scoffed "They were all there Granger, they all did it."

Hermione looked about helplessly and her gaze rested on the copy of _The Winter Wizard's War_ that Rabastan had given her. What was she doing she realised, defending and accepting gifts from somebody who had ruined one of her friend's lives in one of the worst ways possible. She felt a wave of guilt crash over so heavily she had to sit down on the half made bed under its weight.

"_Go_" Malfoy pleaded "I'll be in the duelling room at the back of the house with Rabastan all day, Rodolphus is unconscious just take their mother's wand and walk out the gates. The password is _Raczidian_."

Hermione looked up at him searchingly, there was sincerity and a hint of desperation in his eyes "I can't" she eventually admitted thinking mournfully of the lost inventory.

.

"This is too tough" Madam Lestrange spat angrily stabbing at the thin slice of meat on her plate "Maggot hasn't cooked it properly"

"The venison is fine mother" Rabastan sighed

"What are you talking about boy, of course I don't want any wine" Madam Lestrange croaked squinting at her son; she then began to saw at the china plate with her dinner knife "I'm talking about the venison."

"Of course you are" Rabastan muttered and he made a hand gesture to Hermione who gently took the knife from his mother and began to cut up her meat for her.

"I'm not an invalid squib" Madam Lestrange spat and she shoved Hermione away quite forcefully for somebody supposedly so weak.

"Mother" Rabastan warned and he turned to Hermione "I apologise"

Hermione nodded and rubbed her arm gingerly before returning to Rabastan's side to pour him more wine. It had been difficult seeing him since her talk with Draco this afternoon. When he had first raised his wand to levitate his mother into the dining room all Hermione could think of was that this was probably the same wand that tortured Neville's parents into insanity.

"The Selwyns are coming to dinner next week" Rabastan told her "You will need to make sure the banquet hall and reception rooms are spotless, Maggot may also need some help preparing the feast."

"Yes sir"

"Make sure you set the goblin made tableware, you can ask Maggot where to find it" Rabastan continued "You will be serving us on the night, it is too much to expect Maggot to Apparate back and forth between the kitchen so many times. Please make sure you're presentable."

"Yes sir"

Rabastan looked at her appraisingly "Try to quell that hair for instance" he said, now that Hermione was able to wash again the lank locks that had limped since her stay in Crabbe Castle it had bloomed once more into a busy mane "Does it ever lay still?"

"I'll plait it back sir" Hermione said wishing he would go back to attempting to talk to his mother.

"See that you do" Rabastan commanded and took a few bites of his venison before addressing her once again "What did you think of _The Winter Wizard's War_?"

"It was quite interesting sir" Hermione said keeping her eyes fixed on the tablecloth.

"Just interesting…" Rabastan prodded

Hermione remained silent

Rabastan threw down his knife and fork in frustration "Dear Merlin girl! Would you have me converse with that old bat?" he gestured uselessly at Madam Lestrange who was now pouring her tea on the venison apparently under the impression it was the gravy "What did you think of the siege of Mould-on-the-Wold, the Duke of Lancaster's pact with the goblins? Did you find it more or less illuminating than that book I gave you on De Montfort?"

"I…" Hermione began and realising that he would not be put off she told the truth, after thinking about Frank and Alice Longbottom all day she was not really in the mood to needlessly flatter him "Honestly it seemed a little one sided sir. The war was told very much from Warlock Wendall's point of view and they made out John of Gaunt to be a blathering idiot which I don't think is exactly accurate."

Rabastan's annoyed expression melted and he chuckled "Of course it isn't accurate" he said and picked up his knife and fork and started eating again "Wendall commissioned that particular book, why do you think the war was named after him in it. I've been trying to find accounts from the war commissioned by Gaunt, there must be some he wasn't exactly a poor man. Unfortunately I'm beginning to fear they were destroyed following the implementation of the International Statute of Secrecy." He spat these last four words as though he was saying something particularly vile. "That book is the only contemporary source I could find on him."

"The muggles have lots of sources on him sir" Hermione ventured wondering how he would take such news "They still regard him as an important figure even if they don't know about the Winter Wizard's War. I'm sure there are lots of archives you could look into that might contain clues the muggles haven't noticed."

Rabastan looked a little impressed "That's an idea" he mused "Where do muggles store their information anyway?"

"Oh well there are lots of places" Hermione said "If you want to look at original texts you could go to the British Library in London, my school took me there on a trip once and most bookshops contain books on that period and of course there is always the universities. Oxford and Cambridge would be best I think although I'm not sure which colleges…"

"Would you have gone to one of their universities?" Rabastan asked suddenly, his eyes were narrowed and Hermione realised she had shown far too much enthusiasm for her character of Maud the simple squib "If this…" and he gestured around "hadn't happened?"

Hermione supposed he meant the war and she struggled to think of an answer that would not offend him or underestimate his intelligence.

"I…I don't know sir" she eventually said noticing that Madam Lestrange had appeared to have eaten all she could eagerly seized the opportunity to clear away the plate and hopefully end the discussion before she got herself into dangerous waters.

"They wouldn't have been able to teach you anything anyway" Rabastan muttered "You've seen how wrong they get their own history, your far better off here. I can teach you more than any _muggle_."

Hermione blinked, he sounded…jealous, like it wasn't enough she had to stay, she should realise she wanted to stay. Hermione found the air sucked out from her lungs, she had to get out of this room now.

She nodded wanting to go now "I'll go get desert" she said.

Rabastan narrowed his eyes in suspicion and no sooner had Hermione turned around to leave the room were the dirty plates yanked out of her hands, thrown back onto the dining room table and Rabastan was yanking her along a long corridor to a part of the house she had never seen before.

"I can teach you things you have never dreamed off" Rabastan spat as they charged headlong towards a wall at the end of the corridor and straight through of it as though it had only been a projected "Never mind the muggles who think Thomas Becket died to stop fucking ecclesiastical reform."

"Sir where are we going?" Hermione said now feeling a little frightened as he pushed aside a tapestry and led them down a dark spiral staircase.

"Didn't you ever wonder how Drogothar escaped?" Rabastan demanded, they went down further and further, they must have been on level with the kitchens by now. The stonework looked older and more frayed by the erosion of time; Rabastan lit a torch and carried it so they could see in front of them "How he escaped the wrath of the King and the Wizard's Council?"

"I…how sir?" Hermione asked wondering if the best way calm him was to humour him.

"How indeed" Rabastan gave a manic grin, it appeared knocking himself unconscious had not completely protected Rabastan from the perils of Azkaban.

Hermione now saw there was madness there even if for the most part he kept it hidden. They must have been below even the dungeons now and yet they kept moving. "Drogothar may have underestimated the King's love for Becket but his son did not, Iago Lestrange was one of the cleverest wizards that ever lived and he built something…"

They had finally reached the bottom of the stone staircase and were faced by and old iron door. For a brief second Hermione feared he would lock her up behind it but then he turned to face her wearing a distinctive gleam in his eyes "…something that would protect his father" he continued "Something that would leave no doubt in the King or anybody else's mind that Drogothar had been killed. Something with an air of death so strong Henry II did not question the reason a son may wish to present a method for killing his father and merely accepted the gift."

"Something that witches and wizards still believe delivers death to this day but that delivered Drogothar to safety."

Hermione did not know whether she felt curious or afraid, both emotions welled up inside of her threatening to overpower her. As Rabastan waved his wand undoing the wards on the door Hermione somehow knew that whatever was on the other side was wrong and dangerous and dark.

Rabastan finished and the door glowed a ghostly green before it opened.

Hermione stumbled backwards; Rabastan caught her and held her up so she faced what was inside directly. It was all she could do not to scream.

The tattered black veil fluttered eerily in the absence of any breeze through the crumbling stone archway…just as its twin had done in the Department of Mysteries just over a year ago.

**Thank you for all your lovely reviews, please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story in general**


	13. The Prisoner of Cathrack Tor

Hermione now knew the identity of the secret prisoner of Cathrack Tor, the owner of that low mournful howl she had heard on her arrival at the mansion. The idea of leaving without him seemed absurd now for she could not abandon him for a second time.

"There is no shame in being afraid Maud" Rabastan had whispered in her ear as he had held her so she could not back away from the veiled archway "Even those louts in the Ministry fail to recognise the power of the veil. But you are perfectly safe it is just a trick, an enchanted doorway that's all."

He had made her look at that dreadful thing for what felt like a very long time. When they finally returned upstairs Rabastan, apparently sure that she had been suitably impressed, had regained his senses and told her to put his mother to bed as though it were any other night.

The next day Hermione began frantically trying to work out a way to see the prisoner she was not supposed to know existed. The first chance she got, she offered to make lunch for herself and Maggot and slipped a Puking Pastille into the elderly house elf's tea.

"Is there anything I can do?" Hermione asked feeling incredibly guilty as Maggot threw up violently into a bowl on the kitchen floor. The old house elf had never been anything other than nice to her and had helped her greatly in her duties when she had first arrived at the Tor eager for the extra help.

"Don't worry about Maggot miss, I is going…" he stopped to throw up again and Hermione winced thinking maybe giving the Pastilles to such an elderly creature had been too high a risk "…to be fine, please Miss Maud do not let me ke…" more vomiting "…from your work."

Despite the guilt and worry over what she had done to Maggot Hermione was pleased when her plan appeared to work. When Maggot was still ill at mid-morning the next day Rabastan eventually conceded that she would have to take over some of Maggot's other duties.

"What I am about to show you, you must never repeat to anybody else." Rabastan told her seriously as he led her down the dungeon steps "Do you understand?"

"Yes sir" Hermione said. The tin plate and cup vibrated on the tray she was holding as her hands shook with nerves and she followed Rabastan threw the dungeons feeling more and more anxious with each step.

"I'm afraid this won't be quite as interesting as the veil" Rabastan said sending her a smirk as they stopped outside a heavy looking door with a great iron lock. A rancid pungent smell hit Hermione forcefully and she could not help but cough several times.

Rabastan screwed up his face in disgust "I apologise for the smell, I'm afraid our guest comes with a rather mongrel like sense of hygiene."

He drew his wand out of his pocket and crossed it in front of the cell door in a diagonal motion and muttered "Toujours Pur". He then took out a large old fashioned silver key from the pockets of his robe and turned the lock.

The force of the smell that hit Hermione when the door opened almost knocked her over; it was like rotting, like death. Then she saw the limp figure chained to the far wall. She took an intake of breath trying not to betray any greater reaction.

Sirius Black's skin was deathly white, his lank black hair matted with blood and his torn clothes hung of a frame so thin that Hermione could not believe he still breathed. His chest moved in and out with great difficulty but otherwise he lay lifeless against the wall as thick iron manacles cut into his wrists and ankles leaving painful red sores. There were scars old and new that covered his face and chest as well as other signs of curses.

"Put the tray by his feet" Rabastan ordered and Hermione almost jumped, she had forgotten he was there "Don't get too close"

Hermione took slow deliberate steps towards Sirius not wanting to startle him. Any brief relief from the realisation that he was alive had quickly vanished on the sight of him and been replaced with a great sadness and intense hatred for Bellatrix and the Lestranges. She crouched down and was so shocked at the state of his face that she dropped the tray a few inches above the floor noisily.

Sirius's eyes snapped open. Grey eyes met brown and suddenly he sprang forward grabbing Hermione's arms painfully.

"Her…Her…" he croaked staring desperately into her face, Hermione struggled not to recoil. She didn't want to alarm him but he was starting to hurt her and she was scared that in his delirium he would reveal her identity to Rabastan.

"Flipendo" Rabastan hissed from the doorway and Sirius was thrown back against the wall forcefully, his skull hitting stone with a large crack "Don't touch her you filthy dog" he ordered coldly.

"It's ok sir" Hermione said staring into Sirius's startled grey eyes trying to convey meaning "Us squibs are hardy beings."

.

"Filthy beast, we should have waited until Maggot was better" Rabastan muttered later when they were back in the kitchen. He was searching through the drawers for the Bruisewort Balm "Let the dog starve."

It took everything Hermione had not to respond to this statement in the manner she would like to and instead she said bashfully "I don't mind…Who is he?"

"An animal that's who" Rabastan said coldly pulling up a chair next to Hermione and screwing open the Balm's lid and taking out a dollop of the thick yellow paste to apply to Hermione's bruised arms "He is one of Bellatrix's playthings…Sirius Black, ever heard of him?"

Hermione frowned pretending to think as the cool paste was applied to her sore skin "He was in the papers a few years ago" she said eventually "They said he was a murderer."

"That's right" Rabastan nodded rubbing the paste into her arms, Hermione felt her stomach twist at the intimate act and she noticed there was a gleam in his eyes as he lied to her "The maniac killed thirteen people in one curse."

"Why is he here?" Hermione asked "Why doesn't Bellatrix keep him where she is?"

"Because if her sister ever found out that Black was alive and the extent to which Bellatrix is torturing him Narcissa would demand a quick clean death. Black is their cousin you see" he said putting the top back on the Bruisewort Balm and summoning a tea towel to clean his hands "Not that she'd get her way of course, the Dark Lord needs Black alive but Bellatrix has enough enemies as it is I doubt she'd want to make one of her own sister."

He stood up and nodded towards Hermione's pasted covered arms "Leave that on for an hour and remember what I said about Black, you know far too much about this family as it is so not a word…promise?"

Hermione forced out a weak smile that seemed to satisfy him "Promise" she repeated.

"That's my Maud" Rabastan smiled and Hermione inwardly cringed.

oOoOoOo

"This is reckless"

"You're not worried about me are you Professor Snape" Ron quipped putting the cloak Snape had placed a disillusionment charm on into a rucksack.

"Hardly" Snape sniffed "As I have already told you, your family has gone into hiding, the Burrow will be crawling with Death Eaters and you have a certain knack for getting caught."

"I agree with Professor Snape Mr Weasley" Dumbledore said "I'm not sure what you expect to find at the Burrow but I fear it will not only be your safety you put at risk if you are captured."

That he may inadvertently give away Snape's true allegiance or worse reveal his knowledge of the horcruxes was heavily implied.

"Hermione gathered a lot of stuff for the task you set Harry sir" Ron said and Snape visibly rolled his eyes "It would be really useful to get it back and I don't think we want it ending up in Death Eater hands."

"Very well Mr Weasley" Dumbledore agreed

"I'm still not convince this is a good idea" Snape said

"Are you going to stop me?" Ron asked calmly, he would not admit it but there was a small part of him was leaving just to see if he could. Despite all the evidence to the contrary there was a small voice in his head that sounded like Harry that said he could not trust Snape, that said he was being tricked. Ron wanted to know one way or the other and what better opportunity that to see if Snape really would let him go.

Snape looked at him in judgement "No" he said.

"Right then" Ron said swinging his rucksack over his shoulder and making for the portrait hole in the Headmaster's office "I'll be back soon."

"Wait" Snape suddenly called and Ron stomach dropped. It had been too good to believe that Snape hadn't really betrayed them, that Dumbledore had arranged his own death.

"I am reluctant to give this to you as you obviously place such little value on its use." Snape held out a long thin mahogany wand "I presume you are not intending to walk to Devon?"

"I…thanks sir" Ron said taking the wand gingerly, too surprised to realise he had called Snape sir for the first time in what felt like years.

"Don't lose it" Snape hissed "You have no idea what it took to get that wand."

.

It was dark when Ron Apparated outside the Burrow which was good as the Disillusionment Cloak was not as nearly as effective as Harry's Invisibility Cloak and as Snape had predicted two Death Eaters stood guard.

Ron felt a heavy weight of sorrow when he walked through the Burrow, everything was gone, photos had been removed along with trinkets, cutlery and the Weasley Clock. Entire drawers of clothes had been upended and emptied. There was a horrible eerie silence that hung over the building that didn't sit right with the noisy home Ron had known and loved for so many years. Ron had never really understood before how Harry could have no emotional attachment to Privet Drive, yes the Dursleys were awful but he had grown up in that house. Now Ron understood, seeing the Burrow without his family, removed of all traces of the people he loved instead he just saw an empty structure of made of bricks and wood and felt as remote from it as if it belonged to another family.

It did not take long for Ron to search the rooms where he, Harry and Hermione had slept. All that was left were the bare bedsteads and emptied chest of drawers and wardrobes. Ron hoped Harry must have taken the horcrux books with him as well as Mad Eye's polyjuice potion.

There was a scurrying noise behind him and Ron whirled around with his wand raised and a curse on the tip of his tongue before he saw who had snuck up behind him.

"Crookshanks" Ron sighed in relief as the kneazle mewed and arched its back up against Ron's legs in affection. He couldn't begin to describe what a comfort it was to see the orange furball again.

"What's the matter boy" Ron whispered kneeling down to scratch the cat behind its ears "How come Ginny didn't take you with her, did they leave you behind?"

Crookshanks gave him a look that said quite clearly he was not a cat to be _left_ anywhere.

"Right stupid question" Ron muttered.

Crookshanks buried his face in Ron's palm and then left his side and trotted away out of Ginny's room. Ron followed him. Crookshanks led him through the house looking back every few seconds to check Ron was following him.

They stopped in the kitchen where Crookshanks nudged at one of the bottom cupboard doors so it popped open.

"What have you got in there boy?" Ron asked crouching down to see. It was the moleskin pouch Harry had worn since arriving at the Burrow, Ron frowned why wasn't it with Harry, had he lost it? It must have fallen off in the attack on the wedding Ron realised, he knew Harry kept some important things in there, the marauders map and the snitch Dumbledore had left him for instance. "Clever Crookshanks" Ron said petting the cat as he picked up the pouch.

Crookshanks crawled up onto Ron's bended knees and rubbed against his chest. Ron's eyebrows rose "You want to come with me?" The cat nodded.

"She's not with me Crooks" Ron sighed stroking the cat, admitting sadly "I'm sorry boy; I don't know where Hermione is."

Crookshanks made a movement which Ron supposed was as close to a shrug as cats could get.

"Alright then" Ron said picking up the cat and holding it close to him "I'm in way over my head anyway, I could probably use your help."

.

"What is that?" Snape asked in a cool crisp tone when Ron arrived back at Hogwarts clutching Crookshanks "Do you mean to tell me Weasley that you risked the knowledge of my allegiance for your cat?"

"Actually Severus I believe this particular cat belongs to Miss Granger does it not?" Dumbledore said smiling.

Ron nodded "His name is Crookshanks and he's the smartest creature I know."

"That...considering your social circle is not surprising Weasley." Snape said dryly

Ron bit his tongue and instead whispered to Crookshanks "Go on boy" and dropped the cat onto the desk much to the visible disgust of Snape.

"Give me one reason why I should not curse this beast right now" Snape hissed as Crookshanks began to sniff around his shirt cuffs and robe sleeves.

"Because it's telling me whether I can trust you" Ron said boldly.

Snape looked at him in absolute consternation "And I suppose the barrage of evidence that the Headmaster and I have presented to that say that you should along with everything Potter has undoubtedly told to convince you that you shouldn't both mean absolutely nothing?" he asked sarcastically "Instead you are putting your life in the hands of a flea bitten mothball."

Crookshanks stopped his sniffing and gave Snape such a glare that Snape very nearly almost flinched. Ron beamed with pride.

"Crookshanks isn't an ordinary cat" Ron said "He was the only one who worked out that Sirius was innocent."

"That is a matter of opinion"

Ron bristled "And who Scabbers really was"

"What is Scabbers?" Snape sneered.

"Peter Pettigrew" Dumbledore said and Ron saw a muscle in Snape's face tick "And you must admit that was a rather large oversight on our parts...I for one have always thought we could learn more from our animal counterparts. They are not hindered by such burdensome objects as facts and reason."

Ron thought Dumbledore was mocking him at first but then he saw the old man's painted face was filled with absolute sincerity. Ron turned his attention back to Crookshanks who was now gazing up at Snape in apparent judgement.

Ron held his breath and waited to see if he had been made an absolute fool. To his surprise Snape had also started to look back at Crookshanks as though somewhat invested in what the cat would do.

Eventually Crookshanks stopped staring and he jumped off the desk leaping into Snape's lap where he curled up peacefully.

"Charming" Snape sneered although from the movements of his hands he appeared to give the part kneazle a quick scratch behind the ears.

Ron breathed a sigh of relief feeling more relaxed than he had done since the wedding. "There was something else I found at the Burrow" he said and brought out the moleskin pouch from his jean pocket "This was Harry's, I think it might have some things in there that are useful but I can't get into it."

Snape picked up the pouch and examined it "A simple enough ownership spell" he said "Only of the owner of the pouch can open it"

"Is there a counter spell?" Ron asked.

"Is that wise Mr Weasley?" Dumbledore asked "Any items Harry has placed in there maybe secreted away for good reason"

"Yeah but I think the Marauders Map is in there, you know the map of Hogwarts that Harry's dad and Sirius..."

"Yes Mr Weasley we are familiar with its contents" Snape said bitterly "Reluctant as I am to admit it such a thing may be useful Headmaster"

Dumbledore nodded but did not say anything.

"Reveilio" Snape said and pointed his wand at the pouch which vibrated greatly for a few seconds and then stilled.

Ron picked up the pouch tentatively from the desk and began to dig around inside. He pulled from it a piece of broken mirror, the old snitch Dumbledore had left him, a photo of Harry's mum and dad and...the Marauder's Map.

"Yes" Ron exclaimed on sight of it and tapped it with his wand declaring "I solemnly swear I am up to no good"

Inky lines crawled across the page spreading out like a spider's web revealing the chambers, passageways and inhabitants of Hogwarts Castle. It had long gone midnight now and almost everybody in the castle was in their dormitories or staff quarters apart from Ron and Snape who were in the Headmasters office and Alecto Carrow who appeared to be patrolling the Charms Corridor.

"Interfering old bat" Snape said when he spotted her.

Ron struggled not to smile "Sir" he said addressing Dumbledore and feeling rather nervous. Once again he felt as though he was saying lines that had originally been written for Harry. "I was thinking, Harry thought part of the task you set him could be carried out in Hogwarts and now that I have the map and the Disillusionment cloak..."

He trailed off wondering whether it was too presumptuous of him to want to step into Harry's shoes.

"An excellent idea" Dumbledore congratulated him and Ron felt a surge of confidence.

"Would someone care to fill me in?" Snape drawled.

"All in good time Severus, for now all you need know is that Mr Weasley will be searching for something in the castle" Dumbledore said "Although Ronald I should warn you I had a look around myself and was unable to find anything"

Ron's spirits fell but then he realised something, Dumbledore didn't know all the secrets of Hogwarts. He hadn't known where the Chamber of Secrets was, or the Room of Requirement or his was sure many of the passageways Fred and George had discovered. Maybe not being the most 'focused' student, as his mother sometimes put it, would finally pay off.

"Let me get this straight, you want to send him wandering around the castle" Snape said in incredulation "The Carrows will capture him and whatever secret he's hiding for sure"

"Well then I can really only see one option" Dumbledore said brightly "You will have to teach him Occlumency Severus"

Both Ron and Snape blanched.

oOoOoOo

"Sirius" Hermione whispered through the dungeon door, she had come at the first opportunity she could. The Lestranges were not yet out of their beds and Maggot was busy preparing their breakfast, now fully recovered from the Puking Pastille. She reckoned she had about five minutes before the house elf came looking for her to take it to the breakfast room.

When she heard no answer from within Hermione gave a quiet tap and whispered again "Sirius, it's me Hermione, can you hear me?"

There was a rustle of chains and then a hoarse voice "Hermione?" Sirius croaked "Is it really you?"

"Yes, oh Sirius I can't believe what Bellatrix is doing to you here" Hermione gushed "I'm so so sorry, when you went through the veil we thought you were dead, Rabastan explained it to me it's trickery magic. But you were alive and here the whole time and…" She couldn't go on, it was just too awful to think of that he had been left to rot for an entire year.

"I thought I was hallucinating" Sirius whispered "After a while the mind starts to play tricks on you…"

Hermione squeezed her eyes tight shut to stop herself from crying "Sirius I'm going to get you out of here, I promise"

"No!" Sirius suddenly said sharply "Hermione listen to me, these people are dangerous, I want you to get out of here the first chance you get and don't look back."

"I can't just leave you" Hermione protested

"Dammit Hermione that wasn't a request" Sirius said "Once they find out your muggleborn, you know what…" he stopped and coughed painfully for several seconds and then made a wheezing sound as he took several deep breaths "…Bellatrix will do to you." He finished.

"Bellatrix is hardly ever here, at least not in the main house" Hermione waved away "And I'm not going to leave you Sirius, not when your like this."

"Hermione…" Sirius whined "You have no idea how dangerous these people are" actually thanks to Crabbe she did "What are you even doing here?"

"Some Death Eaters attacked Bill and Fleur's wedding, one of them took me and gave me to Rabastan Lestrange in exchange for a gambling debt" Hermione recited leaving out what he had done beforehand "Sirius…they've taken over, you should see the Daily Prophet now…You Know Who's practically Minister for Magic. You can't even say his name anymore, it leads them right to you…at least that's what I heard Rabastan tell Travers a couple of days ago."

"I know, Bellatrix told me…well taunted me with it would be a more accurate description" Sirius whispered dully and then he paused as though he was trying to measure his words "How's Harry?" he eventually asked.

"Oh Sirius I don't know" Hermione moaned but then hearing his breathing stop she quickly added "But I think he must be OK because it would be really big news if he had been caught or…" there was no point finishing that sentence "Besides he was under polyjuice at the wedding, so I doubt they could find out he was there."

Sirius let out a sigh of relief but then he asked slowly as though he did not want to speak the words "Bellatrix said…she said that Dumbledore was…dead."

Hermione could not respond to this and gave a strangled sob.

"_No_" Sirius declared hoarsely "No, he's not Hermione" as though by commanding her he could make it untrue "Please tell me that bitch was lying."

Hermione fought to keep control of herself and roughly wipe her eyes "She wasn't Sirius" she managed to whisper

"No, no, no" Sirius echoed mournfully, he kept whispering the word quieter and quieter until it faded into nothingness

There was a loud clang somewhere upstairs and Hermione jumped. Maggot had probably just dropped a saucepan she quickly reasoned but Hermione felt that she had already pushed her luck.

"Sirius I've got to go now but I'll come back" she promised "I'll work out a way to get you out."

There was no response, Hermione wondered whether he had passed out or simply lacked the will to reply

oOoOoOo

The smell of tyres on tarmac filled Harry's lungs as he drifted alongside the busy A road. He supposed he should have made more of an effort not to be seen but he had his Invisibility Cloak on and he could think of no other way to get to Chichester than following the road. Ever since he had got the locket from Umbridge Harry had had difficulty Apparating, he had sliced his leg last time he had tried in a nasty splinch.

_"You really are spectacularly thick" Sirius said jeering "You think me and your Dad would have fallen for a trick like that, I'd laugh if you hadn't killed me."_

Harry had cleaned it up as best he could using Episkey but the spell did not seem strong enough and a thin deep scar ran from his calf to his shin causing him to wince every time he stepped on that leg.

_"Oh yeah I escaped ages ago but I told everyone not to tell you" Ron said in a drawling voice that sounded a lot like Malfoy "I just couldn't bear the idea of going with you; I mean you're not worth dying for Harry."_

_"I'm sorry Harry but you really don't know what you're doing" Hermione agreed in a very prissy voice, she sounded like she was back in first year "Ron and I have agreed that it's much better if we defeat Voldemort ourselves, you'll only get in our way"_

A lot of Harry's spells over the past few days had been surprisingly weak. Harry supposed it was because he was currently living on a diet of mushrooms, berries and whatever else he could forage. Harry had been denied food before by the Dursleys but this felt worse. It must have been the combination of sleeping out in the open or the heavy dread he felt in his stomach or this odd new feeling that was like a hand of ice choking at his heart.

_"Didn't you know I'm back with Dean" Ginny laughed "Let's face it Harry your far too much hassle, after all it was your fault I was taken into the Chamber of Secrets, that Percy won't talk to us, that Dad, George and Bill almost died for you. I always liked him better anyway, he's a lot clever than you, better at quidditch and just superior at everything really"_

A large red articulated lorry went thundering by and Harry choked up a lungful of black smoke from the exhaust pipe.

He didn't know why he was going to Chichester, as far as he knew the city had no link to Voldemort but he thought it would help if he just went somewhere. Just to have a goal to stop the voices in his head, his utter feelings of uselessness.

_"But Harry didn't you listen to anything I told you, didn't you pick up on the clues? You should have found and destroyed all the horcruxes now if you had listened to me properly." Dumbledore shook his head in disappointment "Instead you're hiding out here absolutely useless, letting Voldemort torture and murder who he likes. It's pointless hallucinating about Ron and Hermione…they are already dead."_

Harry reached a long line of large brambled bushes that blocked his way and he realised he would have to cross the road to continue. He had barely had the energy to put one foot in front of the other.

He hung his head not really taking in the tarmac his eyes were directed against. At some point he began the herculean task of twisting his body round so he could slowly tread across the road. Even his hearing had become dulled. So much so that he failed to hear the sound of the speeding silver sports car that roared down the road and bowled him straight over the windscreen.

The sports car driver stopped and got out to look with horror at the bloody mangled body of the boy that had appeared from nowhere.

**So there's that...****Please read and review and let me know if I've engaged you at all and what you like (or don't like) about this chapter and story in general**


	14. Intensive Care

"Male, late teens, hit by a car…looks like severe trauma to the head and abdomen…probable internal bleeding"

Bright white lights scorched Harry's retinas as muffled voices shouted from above.

"Driver said he never saw the boy"

"Yeah I've heard that one before"

Something was poking at him hard in the chest, Harry tried to move but he couldn't. There was something holding him down flat on his back.

"He's regaining consciousness…sir, sir can you hear me?"

Harry tried to talk but all that came out was a pained groan. He tried to move his head and panicked when he realised he couldn't, pain soaring through his body he lurched upwards against the binds that strapped him down.

"You've been in a car accident sir…try not to move."

No! He couldn't be here, there were too many people, it was too dangerous didn't they see that. He needed to get away, away and hide.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to stay still, we need to examine you" someone said in a clinical authoritative voice.

Cool hands grabbed at his stomach and Harry tried to flinch away. He could not remember the last time someone had touched him. The blurry blue shapes towering over him were getting fuzzier now.

"Yep…yep…we need to get him into theatre now…"

There was a faint motion of moving and the bright white lights faded dimmer until they dissolved into blackness.

.

"Have you seen the notes from his GP?" someone was whispering

_Beep_

"Yeah" a man snorted

"Seventeen stone he weighed last year, _seventeen?" _the person whispering was young, a woman not much older than Harry by the sounds of it "Can you imagine it? And now look at him."

"That's what drugs will do to you" the man said in a tired voice "Looks like he's been sleeping rough as well"

_Beep_

"Well as far as I'm concerned I've done all Sister can expect of me" the woman said "I've called the GP, social services, left countless messages, I've even rung up a couple of neighbours but they haven't seen anyone in the family for weeks."

Harry wrenched his eyes open. He was lying on a hospital bed, wires were sticking out of his arms and he felt something warm rest against his left wrist as one cord swept blood into his veins. A machine with a computer screen nearby was beeping and two nurses at the end of his bed were huddled together whispering and looking over a green file.

The man muttered "Tragic what happens to some kids…" then his eyes widened as he appeared to realise Harry was awake but his face nevertheless remained unfazed "Good to see you awake Mr Dursley, you gave us quite a scare for a moment there."

Harry lifted himself up onto his elbows looking around at the ward in alarm "What's going on?" he ignored the ache in his chest with surprise for although he felt bruised all over he also felt like a great weight had been lifted from him. There was however this nagging doubt that he had forgotten something.

"You've been in a car collision and quite a nasty one at that" the male nurse said whilst the young female nurse attended to a very old man in the bed next to him "The police will need to have a quick word with you and I'll fetch the doctor in a moment to go through your treatment plan post-surgery."

"I've had surgery?" Harry blinked and looked down where he felt bandages wrapped around his chest underneath his papery white gown but that wasn't what most alarmed him – where was the locket?

"Yes, there was quite a bit of internal bleeding and the doctors had to…"

"Where's my stuff?" Harry demanded "My clothes, my rucksack?"

The nurse looked slightly taken aback at Harry's tone but merely brushed the demand off "Your personal effects are in the cabinet beside your bed, you can get the key off of the Ward Sister after I carry out a few tests." He said coolly "Would you mind holding out your arms in front of you and making fists."

"No" Harry said shaking his head. How could he have got himself into this situation, he could have lost possession of the locket…he was far too exposed here.

"I need to go" he muttered "I need the key and I need to get my things and leave now."

A few of the other patients and staff on the ward turned to look in curiosity.

"Mr Dursley you have just had major surgery, I would highly advise…"

"My name isn't Dursley"

"Then that is our mistake, we assumed as it said Dudley Dursley in your jumper…" the nurse trailed off but Harry was too frantic to care "What is your name?"

"I…" Harry started, if Umbridge and the Death Eaters had convinced the Prime Minister to put out an alert for him… "James…James Finnegan"

The nurse narrowed his eyes at Harry suspiciously.

"I bought the clothes in a charity shop"

"Very well then Mr…Finnegan, as I have said you have just had major surgery and we would like to keep you under observation" the nurse said with pursed lips "You are of course perfectly within your rights to discharge yourself but we would not recommend it."

"You don't understand" Harry muttered lifting himself up, every muscle and bone in him ached under the strain.

"Mr Finnegan" the nurse warned as Harry swung his legs over the side of the bed and ignoring the tubes attached to his arms and the look of alarm on the nurse's face stepped tentatively onto the cold lino floor. He swayed there for a few seconds before spots began to cloud his vision and he collapsed.

.

"All there Mr Finnegan?" Nurse Richards, the young female nurse asked him. A few hours later after he had been poked and prodded by various doctors and nurses Harry had been finally allowed to go through his belongings from his bedside cabinet. The Ward Sister had given him the key with a look of great suspicion as though Harry viewed her nurses as nothing more than common thieves.

"I think so" Harry said, his hand clutching tightly around the cold locket. He dare not put it on in the muggle hospital for fear it would attract too much attention. Besides since he had woken up he had found there was something in the back of his mind telling him not to trust that locket for despite being filled with pain killers, antibiotics and a cocktail of other's drugs Harry's head felt clearer than it had in days with the thing off.

Then Harry realised there was something missing…his wand and he started frantically pulling his clothes out onto the bed.

Nurse Richards wrinkled her nose and now that he was in a clean hospital ward Harry recognised that they smelled quite a bit. "Lose something?"

"I'm not sure" Harry said stretching his whole arm inside the half empty rucksack to search around, "I had this stick with me" he felt kind of silly saying it out loud to a muggle "It was about eleven inches long and made of Holly."

But instead of looking perplexed Nurse Richards smiled "Ah, now you have me to thank for persuading Sister not to throw it out." she said and bent down to have a look in his beside cabinet "Unfortunately it didn't escape the collision unscathed but I thought you might want it anyway. The carvings are very pretty, what was it anyway?"

Harry could not answer as he stared in horror at her hand. His wand, his beloved wand lay in her hands snapped cleanly in half.

oOoOoOo

Hermione too was beginning to despair; she had managed to visit Sirius again that morning and had found him in a worse state. Rabastan may have told her that Voldemort wanted Sirius alive but in the state he was in Hermione could not see him lasting past Halloween.

So in vain she had stepped up her efforts to search for the missing Gringotts inventory even going so far as to have a quick flick through Rabastan's study when he had invited her into look at some ancient Macedonian scrolls he had acquired. Ordinarily Hermione would have been transfixed by such a find but it was all she could do to wait for an opportunity for him to fetch some extra textbooks from the library before she quickly rummaged through the desk drawers.

Hermione was beginning to think maybe she should forget the search for further information on the potential horcrux in the Lestrange's vault and make a move to rescue Sirius before it was too late.

"Still here I see" a familiar voice drawled from the entrance to the banquet hall

"Shouldn't you be back at Hogwarts?" Hermione replied forcing an extra emerald rose into the already straining china vase. Maggot had been surprisingly specific on how the banquet hall should be decorated for that evening's dinner with the Selwyns.

"Mistress always requires two dozen emerald roses for engagement dinners" Maggot had told her "As it recommends in _Giuseppe's Guide to Galas and Gatherings_."

Hermione didn't have the heart to tell Maggot that Madam Lestrange was not much in a fit state to comprehend the engagement dinner was happening let alone how many roses there were.

"Shouldn't you have escaped by now?" Malfoy asked back looking at her seriously and narrowing his eyes "What are you up to Granger?"

Hermione grabbed his wand with ease ignoring Malfoy's taken aback expression and uttered "Muffliato"

"That's one of Snape's spells" Malfoy accused

"Desperate times" Hermione replied coolly, it was now longer only her own life that was in her hands "Why aren't you at Hogwarts anyway?"

Malfoy shrugged and there was something dead in his eyes "I told you Bellatrix wants me to learn how to be a proper Death Eater but she can't be bothered to teach me herself so she's fostered me off on her drunk husband and his useless brother" he ran his hands through his white blond hair "Rabastan just shoots curses at me all day when he's not lecturing me on Dark Arts theory."

Hermione put aside the finished display and started stuffing the remaining roses into another china vase. Out of the corner of her eye she ran her gaze up and down Malfoy as he leaned against the dining table. Whatever Rabastan was doing to him it did not appear to be damaging his physical health, he looked taller and stronger than last year when he appeared a second away from collapsing at any moment. His face however was drawn and he looked much older.

Malfoy smirked a little when he noticed the direction of her gaze "Go on Granger, I told you mine now it's your turn" he challenged "What are you up to?"  
Hermione wondered vaguely whether she could trust Malfoy, there was a good chance if he was caught protecting her he would reveal anything he had learnt in an effort to save his own skin and so she just told him "The Lestranges have something I need"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes "Something you need what does that mean?"

"Never you mind" Hermione snapped forcing the roses into the vase with renewed vigour

"So the Order just let you get captured so you could find something…"

"No they did not_ let me_ get captured"

"…And left you to rot here in all sorts of danger…" Malfoy's voice raised to talk over her

"I have not been left to rot" Hermione said through gritted teeth "They don't know…"

"…whilst Weasley is rescued quicker than a…"

"_Wait!"_ Hermione commanded as she felt her heart hammer in her chest "What are you talking about, Ron needed rescuing?"

Malfoy scowled "Idiot got himself captured right after the coup took place; he was taken to the Ministry of Magic for questioning"

"What happened?" Hermione asked quickly "Is he all right, did they hurt him?"

"Of course they hurt him, he's Potter's best mate and they wanted information" Malfoy scoffed but then he must have seen the worry on Hermione's face because his voice softened somewhat "The Order rescued him though; he vanished right under the Ministry's nose."  
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief

"Yaxley was almost killed for the fuck up" and she noticed Malfoy had a faint look of revulsion as he spoke this. He swallowed and then looked at Hermione directly "See this is why you have to leave, it's too dangerous for you here. You can't trust the Order to save you; if they can rescue Weasley from the top security jail cells they can rescue you. Face it Granger, you've been abandoned."

Hermione looked down at the remaining emerald rose in her hands, that wasn't true was it? No she suddenly thought gripping the rose so hard the thorns pricked her flesh, the Order didn't even know she was here how could it abandon her.

"I haven't been left" she told Malfoy steadily "The Order has no idea where I am but I'm sure they are looking."

Malfoy snorted "Whatever you say Granger, from what I've seen in this war we are all on our own."  
"Maybe on your side" Hermione accused

Malfoy glared at her with such hatred it was as though she had just stabbed him "Let's get something straight Granger" he hissed "I'm on my own side"

He grabbed her hand holding it tightly and when he let go Hermione saw a round shiny gold galleon laying in her palm "When you're ready to stop being a martyr let me know." And he turned to leave

"Malfoy" Hermione called not really knowing whether to say sorry, thank you or you're wrong "I…You can do a Protean Charm?" she instead asked faintly impressed

Malfoy smirked "Just because you're the brightest witch of our age doesn't mean the rest of us are morons"

oOoOoOo

Deciding to find and destroy a Horcrux in Hogwarts Castle was much easier than actually finding and destroying a Horcrux in Hogwarts Castle. Especially when one had no idea what the Horcrux could be or where it was hidden.

Ron had scoured the hidden passageways over the past few days with the aid of his Disillusionment Cloak and the Marauders Map and not encountered a hint of dark magic. The Portrait of Albus Dumbledore had gone to great lengths to teach Ron how to spot such signs of dark magic but Ron wasn't entirely sure that if he came across any he would actually recognise them.

He was also beginning to run out of ideas; he had just returned from the Chamber of Secrets where there was nothing to be found but the skeleton of the slain basilisk. Ron had hoped that the impressive home to Slytherin's personal monster would be a grand enough hiding place for You Know Who. Dumbledore on the other hand wouldn't be surprised when Ron told him the news, he had told Ron (whilst teaching him how to say 'Open Up' in Parseltougne) that the Chamber was an unlikely place to hold a Horcrux as Riddle had already captured this portion of his life in the diary. Indeed this seemed to be the root of Dumbledore's theory that there were no more Horcruxes to be found in Hogwarts.

Ron however could not shake this nagging doubt, which was presented to him in a voice that sounded an awful lot like Harry's, that that wasn't true. Maybe it was because he wanted to be useful instead of just waiting to be Snape's messenger but Ron was resolved to keep looking. Where next though; he wasn't sure.

The castle was quiet and still and in Ron's wanderings he had only encountered a patrolling Professor Flitwick the night before. Ron had had to swerve quite quickly when he realised he was in danger of charging into the diminutive Charms Professor. The silence that engulfed the dark corridors however did not hide the cloud of bleak misery that had fallen over the school.

Ron saw every day from windows in the Headmaster's Tower the groups of students that would huddle together in the courtyards whispering, looking shiftily at one another in suspicion. Two days ago he had seen two large Slytherins curse a first year and a teacher who must have been one of the Carrows walk straight by without battering an eyelid. Then on his way to the Chamber of Secrets tonight he had passed the Muggle Studies classroom and seen a picture of an ape and a muggle on the blackboard under the headline 'Subspecies of Humans'. Ron had wiped of the picture of the muggle and replaced it with a rather crude drawing of a Death Eater.

Suddenly Ron slammed back against the wall, there was a long shadow creeping across the wall at the end of the corridor. Faint soft blue light of the Lumos charm came into view and Ron held his breath as footsteps got closer and closer. Then to Ron's surprise around the corner came not one of the Carrows or a Slytherin but Neville Longbottom. Ron almost laughed, indeed he was so relieved to see a familiar face again that he had half a mind to throw off the Disillusionment Cloak right then and there if it wouldn't have resulted in a lot of awkward questions.

Neville crept quite stealthily along the corridor especially Ron thought for somebody who had formerly been so clumsy. He look around him at all times and without realising it looked Ron straight in the eyes as he passed him. Ron waited until he was out of sight before he moved to head back to the Headmaster's Tower however he had barely taken two steps when he realised the direction Neville had gone…the dungeons.

Unable to contain his curiosity and fear that Neville would get himself in over his head Ron quickly crept after him. They stole down the dark dank dungeon steps, both peering around for signs of danger and Ron trying to keep his footsteps in time with Neville so that he was not heard. There was an icy draft down here and Ron had the horrible feeling they were being watched. Quickly glancing down at the map Ron saw in relief that the corridors were empty with the exception of himself and Neville and that the Slytherins could be found in their dormitories. Then his eyes strayed to a label in a dungeon ahead of them and Ron realised why they had come down here.

Neville creaked open the door to the dungeon as quietly as he could and both he and Ron flinched when they saw what was inside. Hannah Abbott stood chained to the wall, her arms hanging limply above her head and her hands faintly blue from lack of circulation.

"Bloody hell Hannah" Neville whispered rushing forwards to undo the manacles "I told you not to rise to it."

"They were insulting my mum" Hannah said, there were pained tears in her eyes but she spoke defiantly "You'd have done the same thing"

"Yeah probably" Neville muttered finally freeing her and Hannah collapsed into his arms. Neville blushed and rocked her back onto her feet holding her steady "But you need to be careful about what you say, you can't just go around insulting You Know Who anymore."

"You're right" Hannah said drying her eyes "Far better to get into trouble for something that's actually useful."

"That's the spirit" Neville grinned looping her arm around his shoulder as he helped her walk "Although I'd prefer if you let me be the one to get into trouble, Snape already hates me."

Ron followed them.

"Oh this wasn't Snape, it was that awful Carrow woman" Hannah whispered now they were out in the corridor "Snape gave me detention in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid but then _she_ got me as soon as he left and said this would be a much better punishment."

Neville snorted "What an idiot, as if detention with Hagrid's a punishment. Luna thinks of it more as a treat."

Hannah stiffened a little at this statement; Ron guessed she did not view the Forbidden Forest so light heartedly.

"I think I'll be able to get back to my Common Room ok now" she said coolly as they arrived on the ground floor.

Neville frowned "Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'll see you at the next DA meeting"

Neville watched her head towards the Hufflepuff Common Room and then headed upwards to Gryffindor Tower. Ron followed having to go that way himself to get back to the Headmaster's rooms.

They had just climbed the staircase of the third floor when Ron spotted something on the map. A dot labelled 'Amycus Carrow' was heading straight for them. Ron began to think quickly, he needed to warn Neville to tell him to get out of the way. If the Carrows hung people up in the dungeons for insulting You Know Who what would they do to those found brazenly walking the halls after curfew, especially if that somebody was a child of two former members of the Order of the Phoenix. What's more once Hannah was found to have been freed in the morning, the Carrows would put two and two together and realise who had rescued her…then there was the drawing Ron had done in the Muggle Studies classroom.

Ron began to panic, Carrow was getting closer and closer and he could hear his footsteps. Neville however apparently consumed in his own thoughts remained oblivious and walked straight towards the Death Eater. Without having time to realise what he was doing or why he was doing it Ron yanked Neville by the back collar and pulled him into the nearest classroom just before Carrow came into sight.

"What the…Who's there?" Neville demanded

"Silencio" Ron whispered silencing Neville and throwing off the cloak. Neville's eyes almost popped out of their sockets in surprise.

"_Ron_" he mouthed "_What are…"_  
Ron put his finger to his lips and pointed to the gap below the door where blue wand-light had pooled. They held their breath. After a long minute Carrow seemed to give the sound up and carried on walking.

"Finite" Ron said pointing his wand at Neville who immediately clasped his hand around his throat and reflexed his tongue "Sorry about that Neville. That was Carrow out there and from what I've heard he's not a very nice bloke"

"That might be the understatement of the century" Neville said his eye's still wide with surprise and a hint of joy "What are you doing here? Are Harry and Hermione here too? We thought you were dead. Are we going to fight back then and reclaim Hogwarts?"

Ron didn't know which of these questions to answer first "I think the rebellion will have to wait" he murmured "It's just me"

He tried not to feel disappointed when he saw Neville's face fall, he was well aware that in a potentially warlike situation if you got to choose one of the Trio you would not chose Ron.

"What happened?" Neville asked "Ginny said you had been captured by the Ministry and then you just disappeared into thin air."

"Ginny's not here is she." Ron asked in alarm, Snape had told him his family was in hiding.  
"No she never came back- but we've got other ways of communicating, the whole of the Weasleys are hiding at your…" Neville stopped quite suddenly and narrowed his eyes with something that looked like suspicion "How did you escape the Ministry again?"

"I can't tell you that" Ron said "Look Neville you can't tell anyone, you've seen me"

"Of course" Neville said coolly "Remind me Ron, what spell did Hermione do the night the three of you went to rescue the Philosopher's Stone."  
"Bloody Hell Neville" Ron rolled his eyes

"Humour me" Neville demanded

"It was the full body bind curse, Petrificus Totalus and she had to do it because you were preparing to fight us if we left the Common Room" Ron rattled off "You also had a toad called Trevor that escaped into the lake last year, you went to the Yule Ball with my sister for which you practiced dancing in the dormitories and in second year you had a recurring nightmare that Snape was chop you up and feed you to the Giant Squid."

Neville went a little pink but visibly relaxed "Sorry" he said "I had to check"

"Don't worry about it" Ron replied "I'm sorry I can't be more forthcoming."  
Neville shrugged "At least you're not dead, the circumstances may be rubbish but it's good to see you Ron."

Ron grinned "Good to see you too mate."

oOoOoOo

Harry requested to discharge himself as soon as he was able to walk from one end of the ward to the other. The nurses and doctors were not happy about it insisting he needed further rest and observation but as Harry was adamant there was nothing they could do. Harry appreciated their concern but the days spent in hospital had been too much of a risk as it was.

"Sure I can't call Social Services?" Nurse Richards asked as Harry packed up his rucksack "We could probably get you into a hostel, they're not too bad some of them."

"I'm good, I've got somewhere to go" Harry lied.

Nurse Richards looked from his rucksack to the shoes he had borrowed from lost property and furrowed her eyebrows in concern. "If you're sure..." she trailed off.

"I'll be fine" Harry said, indeed now that he was no longer wearing the locket and keeping it in his pocket he felt better than he had in weeks. It was as though the car crash had given a new lease on life - although that may have been the pain killers talking.

"Well I've got you prescription here" Richards said, once the toxicology results had come back and revealed Harry wasn't a drug addict the medical staff had been a bit more relaxed with the pain medication much to Harry's gratitude. "Make sure you get that filled out and you'll need to sign a couple of forms before you go."

Harry put the forged signature of James Finnegan on several official looking forms before thanking the nurses and heaving his rucksack over his shoulder and leaving the ward. He popped by the pharmacy on the ground floor to get his prescription filled out for as long as he could. Placing the drugs into his bag he took a deep breath and stepped out the hospital doors.

The autumn sun was shining and the car park was bustling with people arriving and leaving without a care of Voldemort or Horcruxes or missing best friends.

Harry's stomach plummeted as he recalled Ron and Hermione and then trying not to think of them he realised he had no idea where to go. He stood stupidly in the entrance to the hospital for a few moments before he had to dodge out of the way of an incoming heavily pregnant woman and her frantic looking husband.

Harry leaned against the outside wall a few feet from some sneaky smoking patients and began to think. He needed a wand that much was clear but how to get one? The Order would be the obvious answer but Harry dreaded the idea of facing Ginny and Mrs Weasley again still no closer to getting Ron back. There was also the fact that he had no idea the where the rest of the Order was, they were mostly in hiding and even if he did have enough money to get to Glyn Cothi Forest he had no idea how to find the Den in the thick maze of trees.

Realising that he probably shouldn't stand outside in the bright sunshine whatever he decided Harry looked around for a place to change into his Invisibility Cloak. He spotted what looked like a communal garden with a large willow tree that looked to provide adequate cover. Crossing the car park as he headed towards it Harry's mind was so full of what to do next that he failed to notice the chubby strong hand grab him by the scruff of the neck and slam him against a nearby parked car.

"I knew it, I knew it as soon as I got the call" a foul familiar female voice said "I said to myself Potter is behind this"

Harry blinked staring in utter amazement at the large middle aged woman standing in front of him "Aunt Marge?" he choked.

**Please read and review and let me know what you think (both positive and negative criticism welcome)**


	15. Snape Comes to Dinner

"Where are they?" Vernon Dursley's sister snarled and something by Harry's feet gave a menacing growl, out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Ripper, Marge's beloved bulldog, eyeing his ankles with greed, his teeth bared and dripping with drool. "What have you done with my brother and nephew you ingrate?"

"I...I haven't done anything" Harry protested, it was rather difficult to talk with her muscular grip clasped firmly around his throat.

"Don't give me that boy I haven't heard from them in weeks" Aunt Marge snapped "The house has been abandoned, Vernon stopped turning up to work, Dudders didn't go back to school and then I get a call from one of the neighbours saying Dudley has been in a car crash and taken to Chichester General."

"He has" Harry said thinking quickly "Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia are visiting him right now, they're on the third floor, you can't miss them."

However instead of rushing off to her beloved nephew's bedside as Harry had hoped Aunt Marge gave a grim sneer. "You must think I was born yesterday boy" she said triumphantly "I've already been to the third floor and seen you pose as Dudley, one of the nurses pointed you out."

Harry's face fell "I'm sorry I don't know where they are but they are safe."

"Ah ha, so you do know something" Marge crowed.

"No" Harry said hurriedly "I mean, I know they went but I don't know where I swear."

"A likely story" Marge scoffed.

Harry was beginning to get irritated; it wasn't his fault Uncle Vernon hadn't bothered to give his sister a proper cover story.

"I told you I don't know where they are, now if you don't mind I have someplace else I'd rather be."

Ripper growled louder at his feet.

"Oh I don't think so" Marge said forcefully and before he could stop her she was shoving him into the backseat of the car. Harry tried to resist but in his weakened state she was much stronger than him and soon the door was locked, Ripper was growling at him from the front passenger seat and soon Aunt Marge was at the wheel speeding down the motorway.

oOoOoOo

"...so he just walked off?"

"That's what Mrs Lupin told Ginny" Neville nodded, Ron was about to ask who Mrs Lupin was before he realised Neville must be talking about Tonks "According to Ginny, Professor Lupin wouldn't let Harry go with the others to rescue you because it was too dangerous and so they had a big fight when you disappeared and he just left in the dead of night."

"Blimey"

"He left a letter" Neville continued "I can't remember much of what it said but he seems to think the best way to get you and Hermione back is to defeat You Know Who once and for all."

"Yeah, sounds like him" Ron muttered, as much as he hated to think of the idea of Harry out there alone he couldn't deny the comforting feeling of _knowing_ beyond all doubt that Harry had not just forgotten him.

They were in the Room of Requirement which had formed itself into the DA room from fifth year. There were noticeable changes however that marked this room as the hiding place of a more serious resistance such as the cabinet of healing potions, more advanced sneakoscopes littering the room and scorch marks on the far wall.

"How is Ginny?" Ron asked; he had been sick with worry for his family ever since he had heard they were in hiding.

"Bored really" Neville shrugged, "She's not of age so the Order won't let her do anything for them which means she's just shut up at your Great Aunt Muriel's twiddling her thumbs."

"Bet she hates that" Ron grinned privately glad that the Order were not letting Ginny fight.

"Loathes it" Neville stressed "I don't think it helps that Fred and George are insisting on running their business whilst in hiding through owl order, Ginny said Madam Prewett's about one firework short of kicking them all out."

Ron snorted.

"They think your dead" Neville continued sadly "Well Fred and George and Ginny don't but everyone else…there was nothing else to think you see. At first everyone either thought you'd escaped or been taken to Azkaban but when you stayed missing people began saying that Runcorn or Yaxley had accidentally killed you and hidden the body."

This sobered up Ron instantly and he became awash with guilt when he saw Neville's face look at him hopefully. "You can't tell them Neville."

"But couldn't I just say I'd heard you were OK and leave it at that" Neville suggested.

"My family wouldn't let you leave it at that" Ron said firmly "I'm sorry Neville but it's not just my skin that I'd be risking."

"Ginny said your mum won't stop crying."

Ron gulped trying to quash down further feelings of guilt "She'll be OK, she has the others" he tried to say bracingly "And it's not forever I'll tell you all what happened someday."

Neville didn't look entirely satisfied at this but didn't continue and instead asked "Where are you staying anyway?"

"Oh I'm kipping in one of the secret passageways" Ron lied.

"Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Neville frowned "You can use the Room of Requirement if you want"

"Nah you need that for Dumbledore's Army, I'll be alright."

There was a large wailing and Ron noticed a bright light above the door was flashing red. Neville jumped to his feet and ran over to the door to look through a tiny glass hole before breathing a sigh of relief "It's alright, it's only Luna"

Ron stood up and swung his cloak over his shoulders so only his floating head was visible "That's my cue" he said.

Neville's face fell "Oh no please see Luna, she's been so worried about you."

Ron frowned "She has?"

Neville nodded enthusiastically "And you know she won't ask awkward questions."

That at least was true.

"Neville I'm taking enough of a risk seeing you" Ron sighed.

"But we can trust Luna, you know we can and I don't feel right lying to her about something like this" Neville admitted "She kind of leads the DA with me now after all."

Ron hesitated, he was desperate to see Luna again but he couldn't help but think what a risk Snape would say it was.

"Come on Ron we are doing all of this for you, Harry and Hermione" Neville gestured around to the DA room "Do you really believe Luna would betray you?"

Ron could not contradict that and so it was with much anticipation and no small amount of worry that Neville let Luna in to the Room of Requirement.

Luna did not seem at all surprised to see Ron Weasley standing as bold as brass in the Room of Requirement and when Neville explained that he was hiding at Hogwarts and no-one else could know she merely said in her dreamy way "I knew you weren't dead."

"Thanks Luna" it was strange that no matter how conflicted he had felt earlier Ron was immediately glad once they had told Luna. She had this unexplainable way of making him feel at peace.

"So what are you lot up to here anyway?" Ron asked when they had properly caught up "Are you still teaching people how to defend themselves."

"Well we have to seeing as we're being attacked by the teachers" Neville muttered "But we're doing other stuff too. Muggle Studies is now compulsory and that Carrow woman who teaches us is telling all the students that muggles are like animals; filthy and dirty so me and Seamus snuck into her office and destroyed all the text books she has on the subject."

Ron grinned remembering the ugly drawing on the blackboard.

"We're recruiting as well but it's really difficult because all the students are terrified of getting tortured if their caught" Luna said "Everyone from two years ago joined up but it's been difficult to attract new members without attracting attention."

"That's going to change soon though, the Carrows are getting more vicious" Neville muttered darkly "You saw what they did to Hannah."

"Neville always insists on rescuing anyone caught by the Carrows" Luna said proudly before whispering to Ron with a smile "And he thinks Hannah is very beautiful."

Ron sniggered whilst Neville went bright red "I…I…she's just very helpful that's all, and brave" he added quickly "She's completely mobilised the Hufflepuffs and she organised a Dark Arts homework boycott across several of the years that lasted a week before Amycus cursed Ernie MacMillan for not handing in his essay on _How to Adapt a Severing Charm for Human Flesh_." Neville shivered "That topic had Snape all over it."

Ron looked away and decided to change the subject "Did Hannah get into trouble once they realised you had rescued her?"

"Nah" Neville dismissed "The Carrows torture so many students they can't keep track of who's where."

"Neville and I are out most nights rescuing students" Luna told him matter of factly "Snape's caught me a couple of times and given me detention but Neville always manages to get away."

Neville blushed a little at the praise.

"Blimey, really sounds like you've got your hands full" Ron said thoroughly impressed by what they had told him.

"And what is it you're doing at Hogwarts Ronald?" Luna asked looking at him head on with her dreamy blue eyes.

"I told you Luna, he won't tell us" Neville said "It's a secret."

"But we might be able to help" Luna insisted.

"Trust me you won't" Ron promised.

"You never know, I bet you never thought Neville and I could do all this" Luna said and challenged "Try us."

Ron gave a heavy sigh, there wasn't much he could tell them anyway, he hadn't found out anything "I'm looking for something in Hogwarts and I have no clue where it is, what it looks like or if it's even in the castle."

Neville and Luna stared at him "Well that is a conundrum" Luna said thoughtfully.

"And you don't have any idea what it could be?" Neville repeated in amazement.

"Well not any idea" Ron defended "It could be this small golden cup that had the Hufflepuff insignia on it or it could be something that once belonged to Ravenclaw."

Neville exhaled "Well I haven't seen a cup and I don't know of anything that used to belong to Ravenclaw…Luna?"

"It's alright" Ron told her before she could speak knowing she was about to apologise too "From what I've found out there aren't any known current artefacts of Ravenclaw about anyway so I doubt you would recognise it even if you saw it…I doubt I would, that's the problem."

"Well" Luna began stretching out the word with a slight gleam in her eye "I don't know about any current artefacts but there's always Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem."

oOoOoOo

Hermione did not realise until the Selwyns were sipping elf made wine in the evening drawing room of Cathrack Tor what a bad idea it had been to delay her escape. The Selwyns were surprisingly interested in her and Hermione was beginning to worry she was just a few questions away from her story unravelling. Of course none of these questions are directed at her.

"Of course it's ingenious really Rabastan" his fiancé Aelfreada Selwyn said, as Rabastan had retold the night he had won Hermione, the young witch was extremely beautiful and only a few years older than herself. She had long golden hair that floated on the air like a sunflower petal that fell gently to the ground and she wore finely jewelled robes of darkest silver that hung elegantly on her tall thin frame. "She's much less unsightly as a house elf"

"I did not purchase her for her looks" Rabastan sighed rolling his eyes and then noticing her put out expression gave her a gentle smile "I already possess the most beautiful creature in the country what do I need with something else that's just pretty."

Aelfreada preened making it quite clear she had no idea Rabastan had just insulted her nor that she and Hermione had both been spoken to as though they were objects.

"I suppose she can do the laundry as well" Octavia Travers, Aelfreada's grandmother remarked "That's always been a nightmare hasn't it having a servant who can't even touch clothes. She must be a lot more useful than a house elf."

"It's kindness really" Mrs Selwyn, Aelfreada's mother concurred "I mean this poor creature wouldn't be able to survive out there with no magic, she'd be left to live like a dog among the muggles."

There were several murmurs of agreement among the Selwyns, Travers and Antonin Dolohov who had also been invited to the dinner although why Hermione did not know. She had been alarmed on visiting the kitchen earlier and finding Maggot preparing food for far more guests than she had envisioned. Madam Lestrange it appeared had regained a little of her senses and decided to make the affair much grander than originally planned. The Lestrange relatives from France had just been shown into the drawing room.

"Will Bellatrix be joining us tonight Rodolphus?" Mrs Selwyn asked not noticing her daughter flinch in fear a little at the name or Hermione grip the tray of wine glasses a little tighter.

"She is serving the Dark Lord tonight" Rodolphus replied gruffly eyeing Hermione's tray with great interest as Rabastan shot him warning looks that quite clearly said don't you dare get drunk in front of my future in laws "She might pop by later."

"We are just waiting on Snape" Rabastan said casually "Then we may go into eat."

Hermione nearly dropped the tray. It was all she could do not to register a reaction to the news.

"Typical always bloody late for everything" Travers grumbled ignoring his mother's wince at his language "Then waltzes in with some excuse about what noble work he's been doing."

"Git's nothing more than a glorified babysitter" Rodolphus agreed gruffly.

Hermione's heart began to race, forget inconsistencies on her cover story if Snape saw her she was as good as dead, and with her Sirius and the secret of the Lestrange Horcrux would perish too.

"I am impressed with what he's done at Hogwarts though" Aelfreada piped up as Hermione racked her brain for ways to leave the drawing room but her brain drew a blank "It gives me such comfort to know that at least any children Rabastan and I have will not have to suffer going to school with filth."

"I would thank you for the compliment Miss Selwyn but alas I cannot claim credit" a cold drawling voice said from the entrance to the drawing room "It is of course the work of the Dark Lord."

Severus Snape swept into the room greeting the occupants as Hermione stood frozen to the floor. Move she shouted to herself, run, but the only movement she could manage in her petrified state was the trembling of her hands which caused the tray to vibrate quietly.

Snape did not notice her until her sat down in an available winged armchair and for a brief second he stared before quickly blinking and redirecting his attention to Madam Lestrange.

"I apologise for my lateness Madam" he said smoothly "My staff meeting ran a little over"

Madam Lestrange cupped a hand to her ear "WHAT?" she screeched.

Everybody in the room rolled their eyes.

"SNAPE SAYS HES SORRY HE'S LATE MOTHER" Rodolphus yelled.

"How are the Carrows taking to teaching?" Rabastan asked with interest.

"Like ducks to water" Snape said "I do not believe I've had more agreeable colleagues since Delores Umbridge"

There was a smatter of appreciation and Hermione felt her stomach drop as she thought of poor Neville and Luna back at Hogwarts under Snape.

"Severus you haven't mentioned anything about the Lestranges's new servant" Octavia Travers chided him with almost the air of a fond grandmother and she poked his attention to where Hermione stood trapped against the wall of the drawing room "We were just saying before you arrived how much more practical squibs are than house elves as servants."

"Indeed" Snape surveyed Hermione in her servant's robes in interest "The girl is a squib."

Hermione stared back at him waiting for him to contradict Mrs Travers but he stayed silent.

"Yes I got her from Crabbe" Rabastan said lazily "Our elf is almost as bad as mother so she has been some help. Shall we go in to dinner?"

Dinner was almost as bad as the pre evening drinks. Hermione was so terrified that Snape would reveal her at any moment she practically shook throughout the entire meal and ended up spilling some of the fish bisque on Rabastan's lap.

"I'm so sorry" Hermione gushed as Rabastan vanished it with ease

"Stupid girl" Mrs Selwyn muttered

"It's fine" Rabastan said shortly and out of the corner of her eye Hermione could see Snape casting a curious glance at Rabastan's relative calm. She needed to get out of here now; the only problem was she was sure if she made some excuse to leave Snape would take the opportunity to reveal her.

The evening did not get any better, Hermione wasn't sure why Snape remained silent on her identity, maybe he wanted to embarrass the Lestranges for their unwitting blunder but he kept making snide remarks that only Hermione could grasp the full meanings of.

"No I do not miss the activity of day to day teaching at all, one is always lumbered with miscreants in every class. The worst of those being the arrogant know-it-alls who believe just because they've read a textbook or two they know the subject better than you do."

Hermione nearly dropped the chocolate gateau when he went onto say "There has been a little bit of upset but I believe that to be only natural after such a sharp change in the school policy. I believe it will die down soon enough once the Carrows demonstrate this is in the student's best interests." Snape drawled confidently "There will I'm afraid continue to be a small band of students who make it their business _to solemnly swear to be up to no good_."

That phrase couldn't have been a coincidence and Hermione's heart raced, but how could Snape possibly know that phrase? Every owner of the marauders map whether it was Harry, the Weasley twins or the Marauders themselves would have rather eaten slugs that let Snape in on that particular password.

She edged towards the door; she had to get out of here _now._ She would just have to hide in the house somewhere she thought wildly ignoring the stupidity of such a plan and steal Madam Lestrange's wand again in order to make her escape. Hermione was almost on the verge of making a break for it and running out of the Dining Room in full view when she remembered…Sirius. She couldn't leave him again.

Fortunately however she was soon given an excuse to leave by Rabastan who had noticed both her discomfort and his mother's drooping eyelids and Hermione was ordered to take Madam Lestrange to bed.

This was the chance she had been waiting for, pushing Madam Lestrange's floating chair along the halls and up the mahogany staircase she dumped the vile old woman onto her bed and grabbed her elm wand and a few whispy white hairs that protruded from her wrinkled balding head. Hermione locked the bedroom door tightly shut and quickly made her way back to her own bedroom where a flask of polyjuice potion lay hidden in her beaded bag. She hid the wand and hairs and walked quickly eager not to attract any suspicion from the muttering portraits as she crossed the large house to the servant's quarters.

"Miss Granger."

Hermione kept on walking pretending not to have heard.

"Miss Granger!"

She broke into a run as she jogged up a nearby staircase but she was not fast enough as heavy footsteps echoed behind her and a long thin hand grasped her shoulder and forced her round to meet the cold stare of Severus Snape.

"So you've been hiding as a squib" Snape said with his lip curled "How interesting…I can think of somebody who will be _very _ happy to find out where you've been."  
Hermione didn't care how pleased Voldemort would be to have another hostage along with Sirius to bait Harry with.

"Let go of me Snape" She spat, how could he stand there like that, like he hadn't murdered Dumbledore, like he hadn't betrayed them. When Hermione thought of all the times she had defended him to Harry she wanted to vomit.

"Not just yet?" Snape said slowly looking her up and down "Are you hurt?"

"I…What?"

"The Lestranges girl have they hurt you?" Snape said and looking over his shoulder as he snapped like they were still in class and he had asked her a question on anti-venoms "Quickly Miss Granger we don't have much time."

But Hermione couldn't care less about whatever games he was playing with the Lestranges "What do you care?" she asked bluntly.

Snape sneered and hissed as quietly as a snake "Now listen Miss Granger…"

"Snape" a voice snapped angrily.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief; Rabastan had just rounded to the bottom of the staircase where they were standing. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed Snape's hand on Hermione's shoulder "We've been looking for you" he said coolly "Travers and Dolohov want to discuss business in the study before they leave."

"Forgive me Lestrange" Snape said silkily removing his hand from Hermione "I was merely asking your squib for the directions to the facilities but it can wait. Shall we?"

He gestured his hand for Rabastan to go ahead of him. Yes go Hermione urged, then she would be left alone to get the polyjuice potion and form some sort of escape plan.

Rabastan looked suspiciously at Snape and then Hermione "You go ahead" Rabastan said "I need to see the girl back to her room."

Hermione's stomach plummeted.

"Did he touch you?" Rabastan asked the moment they were alone and nearing the servant's quarters.

Hermione shook her head.

Rabastan's lip curled "I don't trust Snape as far as I can throw him, stay away from him in future."

"Yes sir" Hermione was planning very much on doing so.

They stopped outside Hermione's bedroom door and Rabastan said in what he obviously thought was a kind voice "No point in you waiting up for us, after a run in with Snape you deserve the night off."

"No!" Hermione cried panicked, he was going to ward her in. Rabastan raised his eyebrows at her outburst. "I mean I can't leave Maggot to clean up all by himself."

Rabastan chuckled "That's my Maud" he said and Hermione tried not to cringe as he kissed her forehead. He had never done that before. "You leave that till the morning and if you're a good girl I'll let you have a proper look at those Celtic scrolls you were eyeing in my study the other day."

Hermione felt the walls close in on her as he warded her inside her bedroom.

oOoOoOo

Ron attempted to clear his mind as he gazed vacantly out at the black night sky sparkling with diamond like stars. Harry was right, having Snape teach him Occlumency each night was like having a battering ram slamming into his skull and piercing his brain on a recurring basis. Ron however appeared to be doing a little bit better than Harry however which possibly had something to do with the fact he trusted Snape more than Harry did and had nothing else to do all day but read up on Ravenclaw's diadem and practice. Snape meanwhile said it was because Ron had a naturally vacant disposition and it was harder to rid yourself of thoughts when you didn't have many to begin with.

Now that Snape had discovered Ron was in contact with Neville and Luna he insisted on Ron practicing clearing his mind every day as well as every night. Ron didn't mind the practice part of Occlumency so much it was helping him deal with anxieties about his family and friends much more easily. He was just trying to clear his head of the absurdly endearing sight of Luna wearing Brussel sprout earrings earlier that evening when there was a cough behind him.

Ron didn't turn around and stayed crossed legged on the floor of his bedroom "I thought practice was sacred" he said. "You shouted me for about an hour the last time I finished early."

"Forgive me you are of course right" Snape said silkily "I'll just share the news on Miss Granger with Professor Dumbledore first."

Ron leapt up and almost fell down the stairs to the Headmaster's private sitting room in his haste.

He stared at Snape who sat down calmly in front of the fire and tried to regulate his breathing. "You know something about Hermione?" he asked urgently.

Snape appeared almost amused at Ron's frantic state "Indeed" he said slowly as though purposefully torturing Ron "I saw her tonight at the engagement dinner for Aelfraeda Selwyn and Rabastan Lestrange."

"Lestrange, what's she doing there?" Ron asked a sudden feeling of dread coming over her "She is alright isn't she?"

"Perfectly as far as I could see" Snape said causally "The Lestranges are under the impression she is a squib and they keep her as a servant."

Ron breathed a sigh of relief to heavy that he sunk under the weight of it onto the comfy sofa. She was alive and from the sounds of it hadn't been hurt. "So she's ok, she hasn't been you know..." he could not finish the sentence.

Snape paused and he shared a look with the portrait of Dumbledore that Ron did not like "As far as I'm aware" he said eventually "The Lestrange brothers have not touched her."

There was something incomplete about this answer and Ron was about to say so when Dumbledore asked "What was Miss Granger's reaction when she saw you Severus?"

"Startled, panicked, hateful" Snape said casually "For a moment I thought she would bolt from the dining room although mercifully she kept her head."

"She will think you plan to betray her to Tom" Dumbledore said "I would advise you to collect her tomorrow morning before she does something rash."

"Why didn't you get her tonight?" Ron asked suddenly, he didn't like the idea of Hermione being left another night under a Death Eater's roof.

"It would have been too risky, there were at least five other Death Eaters at the dinner tonight and as she is not being harmed..." Snape trailed off as though debating on telling Ron something, he obviously decided against it "As Dumbledore said I'll go tomorrow. Two out of the three Lestranges that live at Cathrack Tor are usually incapacitated as it is and if worse comes to worse I will only need to duel Rabastan."

"I could go with you to help" Ron offered eagerly.

Snape almost looked touched at this but Dumbledore said seriously "I do not think that wise Mr Weasley, we cannot risk Professor Snape's true allegiances any further. Severus please keep any duelling as a last resort and if you do have to fight Rabastan ensure he is in a position not to pass on the affair to Tom."

Ron was so happy that within twelve hours he would see Hermione again it did not occur to him till much later that Dumbledore had essentially ordered Snape to murder Rabastan Lestrange if necessary to secure his silence.

oOoOoOo

Hermione paced up and down the small room running her hands through her hair trying desperately to think of a way out. She had a wand but the wards on her bedroom door could only be done from the outside and it would be suicidal to send a message to the Order to rescue her.

_Snape could be on his way to Voldemort right now to deliver the news._

Then she spotted something, something golden that caught the candle light and glinted brightly. Four hours later when the house was dark and silent and Hermione's room was lit only by the pale silver of the waning moon there was muttering and scratching at the door.

Hermione jumped up and held Madam Lestrange's wand aloft and focused it keenly at the door. The copper handle turned slowly as the door slid open to reveal the pale moonlit face of Draco Malfoy holding his own wand and a bright golden galleon.

"I take it your ready Granger?"

**Please read and review and let me know what you think (both positive and negative criticism welcome)**


	16. Escaping the Lestranges

_The copper handle turned slowly as the door slid open to reveal the pale moonlit face of Draco Malfoy holding his own wand and a bright golden galleon._

_"__I take it your ready Granger?"_

"Malfoy thank goodness" Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, lowered her wand and swung her beaded bag over her shoulder. She pushed passed him in her ease to escape leaving him a little disgruntled at her behaviour. "I would have got out myself but the wards can only be opened from outside."

"I suppose there's a reason this had to be done in the dead of night" he drawled following her looking at the wand she was holding in disdain.

"Snape came to the house tonight" Hermione whispered as they made their way down a dark corridor lit only by the soft moonlight. She could barely see Malfoy it was so dark and neither of them dared light their wands.

"Snape!" Malfoy hissed with something akin to alarm and he grabbed her hand suddenly and began to drag her forward with a quicker pace "Did he see you?"

Hermione nodded "He didn't say anything though, he just played along"

"He hates Bellatrix" Malfoy confided curling his lip with distaste "I bet you anything he'll use it to try and get her out of favour with the Dark Lord, coax her into gloating about her squib slave or something before he does the big reveal that you're really Potter's muggleborn mate."

"As far as I'm concerned they can finish each other off" Hermione muttered tugging him up a narrow stone staircase.

Malfoy snorted before seemed to realise they were going in the wrong direction "Granger what they hell are you doing?" he hissed pulling her back by their joined hands and bringing them to a halt "This isn't the way to the front door."

"I told you I need to get something."  
"Bloody hell not this again. Whatever it is it isn't worth your life!"

"Yes it is" Hermione whispered back firmly and she let go of his hand and looked at him seriously "Look you don't have to come with me, you've done more than enough for me already by unwarding my room. I won't judge you for escaping now but you won't stop me from getting this."

Malfoy looked at her crossly, he seemed to be having some sort of internal battle with himself "Fine" he spat eventually "But you better not get me killed."

Hermione could not miss that her stomach did a little flip; she was not as scared as she probably should have been but his solidarity was comforting nevertheless. They travelled into the main part of the house and up to the fourth floor where they stopped in front of a large pair of very tall white doors that were lined with delicate golden trim and behind which echoed the sound of soft snoring.

Malfoy looked at her with derision "This better not be for some book" he hissed.

"Shh!" Hermione hushed and mouthed "Wait outside."

Malfoy did not look happy with this but did as he was told as Hermione slid as silently as she could inside Rabastan Lestrange's bedroom.

The man in question lay sprawled on the bed in a pair of silken pyjamas and snoring more heavily this side of the door. Satisfied that he was asleep Hermione tucked her wand in her pocket and walked quickly to the emerald green robes he had worn that day that lay slumped on a chair by the desk. She riffled through them as quickly as she could well aware Rabastan could wake at any moment and finally in the inside pocket she dug out the large old fashioned key. Her face splitting into a wide smile she stood up and held the key in the palm of her hand looking at it with satisfaction. It lay there dull, cold and heavy but finally in her possession.

"My, my, my and how did you get out?"

Hermione spun round, hiding the key in a hand behind her back and stared with horror at the very awake Rabastan Lestrange who stood by the bed twirling his wand in his fingertips.

"Lumos" blue wandlight filled the room and Rabastan's gaze fell on Hermione's arm behind her back.

"What have you got there?"

"Nothing" Hermione squeaked and then saying quickly "I was looking for the Celtic scrolls"

"Of course you were" Rabastan said in a disbelieving tone as he slowly stepped towards her "Not that I mind the night-time visit Maud…" he was now inches away from her body and Hermione felt vile memories with Crabbe resurface "But I locked you in, how did you…"

"Get away from her" a voice from the door said

Rabastan and Hermione turned to see Malfoy standing in the wand light pointing his wand at Rabastan in determination.

Rabastan rolled his eyes "Of course…Draco" he sneered redirecting his attention away from Hermione and to Malfoy "I don't know how many times I've told you not to touch other people's things."

Hermione slipped the key into her back pocket and edged her fingers to Madam Lestrange's wand in the other pocket.

"You've gone too far this time" Rabastan told him coldly now aiming his wand at Malfoy "Are you really so stupid you believe you can just take off with my servant_._"

"I'm not the stupid one" Malfoy sneered "You don't know a thing about her."

"I know that she is mine boy" Rabastan spat and Hermione saw glimpses of the man who had shown her the Veil, of the Death Eater, emerge "_Cru…"_

"Petrificus Totalus" Hermione yelled.

Rabastan's half-finished curse lay hanging in the air as his jaw snapped tight, his arms and legs sprung tightly to his body as if cemented there and his wand fell to the floor with a clatter. He stared at her in utter shock for a couple of seconds before he tottered over falling onto the floor like a stiff plank of wood.

"I don't belong to anybody" Hermione said through gritted teeth bending over to snatch the fallen wand. She gave him a hard kick in the ribs and hissed "And that's for Mr and Mrs Longbottom" before walking out leaving the smirking Malfoy to say in her wake.

"Told you, you don't know her."

Hermione pulled Malfoy into the nearest alcove once they had both left Rabastan's room and gave him the polyjuice potion plus one of the Death Eaters wiry black hairs.

"Polyjuice potion, you have polyjuice potion?" Malfoy spluttered incredulously.

"Yes I'm sorry I should have given you some with Madam Lestrange's hair in before but I forgot" Hermione said flustered gulping down the revolting potion herself and transforming in the withered old witch.

"You don't say" Malfoy snapped

"Well I did tell you to wait outside" Hermione hissed back "In fact I told you to leave the house"

"I thought he was going to hurt you" Malfoy hissed back equally angry "Whatever it was you took better be worth it."

They crept down through the massive house until they finally arrived at the dungeons.

"Well at least if we're caught it will be a short to trip" Malfoy muttered later looking grimly into an empty cell where miles of chains lay mounted up in a large pile on the corner.

Hermione ignored the Rabastan looking Malfoy and hurried to the cell at the end crossing the door diagonally and saying the password. As fast as she could she unlocked the door with the stolen key and threw it aside to reveal the slumped figure beyond.

"Sirius" she said running to him and shaking him awake.

Sirius stirred pitifully and his eyes widened as he saw her and Malfoy who stood by the door looking at Sirius with interest "What are you doing?" he croaked wearily

"Rescuing you" she told his bewildered expression as she began to unlock the manacles binding him and then realising that from his perspective Rabastan and Madam Lestrange had gone mad said "It's me Hermione and that isn't Rabastan it's...a friend"

She was going to say Malfoy but this would probably raise more questions than it would answer and there wasn't time.

Sirius left looked at her, really looked at her as though he was scouring into the depths on her soul "You clever girl" he finally croaked.

Sirius was not strong enough to stand by himself let alone walk or undertake a painful polyjuice transformation so Hermione and Malfoy helped him along between them with a bony scarred arm slung around each pair of shoulders.

It was difficult work trying to manoeuvre a half dead grown man up the dungeon steps and into the main house quickly and silently. Several times Hermione stopped them her eyes darting around as if she's seen one of the shadows move. At any moment they could wake Maggot and whilst she and Malfoy could easily take the elderly elf before he had the chance to raise the alarm Hermione was reluctant to curse the innocent creature.

Eventually they made it outside onto the wide pathway that led from the house. There was a loud crack as Sirius stretched his neck to look up at the starry sky he had not seen for over a year.

They pulled him along the pathway lined with topiary sculptures and marble statues towards the gate. Hermione's muscles ached under the strain of Sirius's weight but her mind was alive, they were almost there, they were almost free...just a few feet more.

And then there was a loud crack that tore the silent night in two and the gates opened to reveal Bellatrix Lestrange. Her hair was as wild as ever, she was dressed in a thick black travelling cloak and whatever she had been doing for Voldemort had left a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

The gleam vanished as she looked at the frozen polyjuiced Rabastan to the polyjuiced Madam Lestrange to the figure of Sirius Black draped between them.

Her eyes narrowed and filled with rage "What are you doing?"

"Moving the prisoner, what does it look like?" Malfoy said as confidently as he could "Under the Dark Lord's orders."

Maybe it was because Sirius was unshackled or that he was being escorted by the normally immobile Madam Lestrange or that it was extremely odd to be moving a prisoner this time of night anyway but Hermione realised a second later that Bellatrix knew exactly what they were doing.

"Traitor!" she screamed and shot a curse at Malfoy that sent him flying backwards down the path.

Hermione barely had enough time to send a shield charm to protect her and Sirius before she was cursed too.

Bellatrix yelled in frustration as Hermione pulled Sirius back towards the unconscious Malfoy protected by her shield charm.

"_Rennervate_" she said pointing her wand at Malfoys chest and watching his eyes flicker back to life as she breathed a sigh of relief. It was short-lived however as out of the corner of her eye Hermione saw Bellatrix press her wand against her dark mark with a manic grin.

Seconds later more loud cracks were heard and dark figures ran through the gates to join the fight.

"_Diffindo!_" Hermione yelled and a statue of a large warlike giant came tumbling down blocking the pathway and protecting them from several spells that came their way.

"Now how are we going to get out?" Malfoy asked angrily shooting a stunning spell than narrowly missed a Death Eater Hermione recognised as Jugson.

"I thought you wanted to live first" Hermione shot back at him.

"The Lestranges have betrayed us" Bellatrix screeched into the night air "Kill them."

A barrage of spells hit the statue and flew over their heads. As far as Hermione could see it was five against two, Bellatrix and Jugson had been joined by Dolohov, Yaxley and to Hermione's disgust Wormtail.

"It's no use" Sirius said wearily, he barely had enough strength to raise his wand "Leave me" he begged.

Malfoy looked as though this wasn't a bad idea but Hermione said fiercely "No."

She and Malfoy shot spell after spell, the statue in front of them was rapidly disintegrating but Hermione felt a cheer when she managed to send Jugson flying into the thorned rose bushes.

"_Expelliarmus_."

"No!" Malfoy yelled in horror and Hermione went white as his hawthorn wand sprang out of his fingers and soared into the chubby revolting grasp of Peter Pettigrew.

"Give it up Rabastan" Bellatrix laughed "You're going to die anyway, why not get it over with?"

"Not if I can help it" Hermione muttered and then lifting her head to the sky she shouted with all her might "VOLDEMORT!"

"Nooooo!" Bellatrix screamed whipping her wand straight at Hermione "Avada Ked..."

But Hermione didn't hear the rest. She had already Disapparated carrying Malfoy and Sirius with her until they fell onto the soft leafy floor of the Forest of Dean.

"What the hell was that?" Malfoy cried eyes wide with astonishment.

Hermione however didn't notice, Sirius's arm which she was still gripping had begun to tremble. "_Lumos_" she muttered and her body filled with dread as she saw Sirius had lapsed into unconsciousness and blood was gushing from his shoulder. He had been splinched. "No, no" she murmured "Please don't die"

"You don't think the wand light might be a bit of a giveaway in the middle of a dark forest?" Malfoy sneered.

"Not as much as your shouting" Hermione snapped back at him digging around in her bag past her books and Ron's Deluminator for Essence of Dittany. She threw Rabastan's wand to Malfoy "Why don't you do something about it and put up some protection wards."

Hermione heard some grumbling and the rustle of leaves as Malfoy got up and began to fill the forest clearing with disillusionment and silencing charms. "Come on Sirius" Hermione muttered coating his would in Dittany and muttering constantly "_Episkey_" She didn't know what else to do, she had never practiced healing spells only read the theory.

Slowly the fleshed knitted itself back together and Sirius's breathing began to even out but he did not wake. Hermione sat back on the soft earth, she couldn't think of anything else to do now but wait.

A few minutes later Malfoy joined her lighting his own wand "So who is he?" he gestured to the prone figure of Sirius.

"Sirius Black" Hermione said; it was not difficult to see why Malfoy did not recognise him in his tortured state, he looked worse than he had done on escape from Azkaban "He's your cousin."

Malfoy nodded "Right, Potter's godfather…I thought he was dead."

Hermione shrugged "Apparently not."

He looked like she felt, tired, drawn and worried "Granger, how did we escape? I thought the place was surrounded by anti-disapparition wards up until the gate."

"Priori Incantatem" Hermione said having only just realised the answer herself

"The reverse spell effect, that's only for wands."

"What do you think wards are cast with – bananas?"

Malfoy gave her an irritated look and so she explained "The taboo that stops anyone from saying You Know Who's name, it breaks protective enchantments and casts an anti-disapparation jinx around the area to trap the victim until they can be traced right?" she gestured make sure he understood "Well there was already an anti-disapparition jinx on Cathrack Tor so when I said the name and broke the taboo the new jinx and old jinx must have cancelled each other out and reversed the existing jinx."

Malfoy looked impressed for a moment and then he narrowed his eyes "So all this time you've had access to a wand, polyjuice potion and a way to break anti-disapparition wards. What exactly was it you needed me for?" he accused "Was there a reason you dragged me into this?"

"I didn't drag you into anything" Hermione cried indignantly "You're the one who's been hanging around begging me to let you help me escape."

"You're the one who contacted me tonight" Malfoy reminded her "Because Snape was on his way to reveal your identity but it turns out you could have got out all by yourself. I can't go back now you realise that, Rabastan saw me and it's all for nothing."

"Oh I'm sorry did you want to go back" Hermione asked sarcastically "Did you want to serve a madman and kill a headmaster and murder mudbloods?"

Draco Malfoy's face drained of all its colour and Hermione knew instantly she had gone too far "I want to see my parents Granger" he said through gritted teeth "I've left my father and mother trapped and at the mercy of _Him_. My father doesn't even have a wand, the Dark Lord's about a hair breath from killing him as it is, what do you think's going to happen when it emerges that his son helped Potter's godfather and muggleborn friend escape?"

There was a small glint of guilt growing in Hermione's chest and try as she might she couldn't quash it down "Your parents will be fine" she said shortly not knowing whether she believed or even wished for that to be true "They've lasted this long. They know how to play the game."

Malfoy snorted "There is no game playing with the Dark Lord. It's unconditional loyalty or death."

"They still would have found out" Hermione reasoned "They would have questioned the Crabbes to find out who I was and why I was pretending to be a squib. They would have found out who I was and that you knew and protected me anyway. You picked a side the moment you told Crabbe and Goyle not to reveal my identity. If you hadn't have come tonight they would have found out and killed you anyway."

Malfoy looked down at the ground, there was a guilty expression in his eyes that suggested he knew she was right and didn't know how to feel about it. "So you asked me to come to protect me" he said disbelievingly putting on his infamous arrogant tone that had once been so common at Hogwarts but which she now heard so rarely.

"No" Hermione said truthfully "The reverse spell effect didn't occur to me until we were about to be blown to smithereens. I asked you to come because I needed you."

Malfoy stared at her with interest and she couldn't tell if this was good or bad news for him so she rummaged around in her beaded bag and pulled out the miniature version of Old Perkin's tent she had borrowed from Mr Weasley.

"Now stop sulking and help me put this up so we have somewhere to sleep."

Much less effort than normal was put into the scowl Malfoy sent her in response "Merlin you are bossy Granger" he complained as the pair sorted out the different pegs, poles and canvas material "How on earth did Potter and Weasley put up with you?"

"They get on and do as their told" Hermione said primly and tried not to smile at Malfoy's amused expression at her words.

oOoOoOo

It was almost laughable Harry thought. The most powerful wizards in the country had likely employed every spell and resource at their disposal to find him and yet here he was wandless and cornered in Aunt Marge's large kitchen by six of her growling bulldogs whilst the woman herself looked on menacingly.

They had arrived in the little village where Marge lived that evening and the woman had quickly smuggled him into the kitchen at the back of the house possibly afraid of the neighbours witnessing her unusual behaviour. Harry was not unhappy about this; on the highly unlikely chance Death Eaters were watching the house they would not have noticed his arrival.

He had been there for hours as Aunt Marge bellowed questions at him regarding the Dursleys's disappearance. It was nearing dawn in the smelly kitchen that contained several dog baskets, a pile of empty pizza boxes and a long shelf of brandy bottles but very little in the way of actual cooking equipment.

"Petunia and Vernon were too kind for their own good taking you in" Marge sneered walking back and forth, Ripper following dutifully at her heels as she paced "You should have been chucked straight into an orphanage, I've always said it."

Harry gritted his teeth. He was tired, it was almost Five O'clock in the morning and his pain killers were beginning to wear off, a deep painful ache was settling into his abdomen. "It's not my fault your stupid brother didn't tell you he was leaving."

Aunt Marge snapped round to face him furiously "Don't you take that tone with me boy" she barked "For all I know you've murdered them and stolen all their money."  
"Then I wouldn't be wandering the streets would I?" Harry said in annoyance.

Marge clenched her fists, there were dark circles around her eyes, clearly she was getting as tired of this as Harry "I'm going to ask you one more time boy – Where are they?"

"I. Don't. Know." Harry said slowly and deliberately as if he was talking to somebody particularly stupid which to his mind he was.

"Right that's it" Marge snapped heading for the hall "I'm calling the police"

Harry reeled back in shock "No wait you can't!" He tried to move forward to stop her but six drooling bulldogs blocked his way.

"Ah ha!" Marge grinned triumphantly turning back on her heel to face him "It's time for a confession I think."

Harry stared at her murderously. He had seen wizards like Dumbledore perform wandless magic on occasion, last year Hermione had even been able to summon a book but despite all the rage that had built up against Marge Dursley over the years nothing happened.

"Go on boy" Marge coaxed "That wasn't an empty threat, I will call the police if I don't get any answers."

Harry said nothing willing the wine rack to collapse and knock her out or something.

"One, two…" she counted backing out of the doorway towards the phone.

"Wait" Harry said once again bringing her to a halt, he couldn't think how else to explain everything without some version of the truth "They're…they're in witness protection."

Marge blinked in astonishment "Witness protection" she said in surprise, her eyes widened and then understanding came over her face "Of course this is something to do with you isn't it, you've got yourself into trouble and now my brother and his family are paying the price."

"Yes" Harry admitted bleakly

Marge looked triumphant "Always knew it, always knew it" she boasted "So what was it, drugs, armed robbery, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything" Harry protested "You wouldn't understand, there's this madman that wants to kill me so the police had to hide the Dursleys. He's got spies everywhere; if he finds out where they are he'll kill them to get to me."

Marge went a little white at the proclamation "Well you must have done something" she snapped "Why else would this mad criminal want you dead?"

Harry didn't have an answer for that; this was after all a woman who thought Harry's parents had died in a car crash when he was very small. "He just does" Harry answered blankly "That's why they call him a madman."

"And to think you've got my brother mixed up in this" Marge said angrily "Poor little Vernon"

Harry wondered if anyone had ever before referred to Uncle Vernon as 'poor' or 'little.'

"So why aren't you in hiding with them?" Marge suddenly demanded sounding deeply suspicious.

"I'm going to get him before he gets me" Harry said boldly.

"Oh really" Marge jeered "And how are you going to do that?"

"I...I don't know" Harry admitted somewhat painfully.

"Ha! A waste of space and a scoundrel too, most probably a hardened criminal to get yourself mixed up in all of this" Marge said wagging a fat muscular finger at him "Yes sir, Vernon and Petunia should have left you on the doorstep to freze. They took you in and now what's become of them, shut away in terror with some PC Plod and Vernon never did know what he was doing. Well I won't make the same mistake."

"You won't?" Harry asked

"No sir I will not" Marge declared "I'm not having you in my house endangering my dogs you can leave right now. If you don't know the address of the safe house I'll go to the police myself, I'll hunt the madman down myself if I have to."

Harry stared at her agog trying to imagine an image of Aunt Marge fighting Voldemort but failing "You're mad" he said "You wouldn't last a minute"

"Now listen here boy I'll have you know I was the English Junior Women's Wrestling champion in my day" she said "I think I've got a fair better chance of beating him than some scrawny waste of space sprog of deadbeats."

This insult to Harry's parents brought a hundred other insults Marge had uttered over the years surging to the surface of his mind.

"Fine then his name is Tom Riddle. Go ahead and fight him, get killed by him for all I care." he challenged.

"I certainly will not" Marge boasted and grabbing him by the scruff of the neck she pulled him out of the kitchen "I've got what I wanted" she said throwing open the door "Now get out and don't come back looking for table scraps of any other such nonsense."

Harry was about to remind her she was the one who kidnapped him when his rucksack was thrown at him almost knocking him over. The door slammed in his face.

Harry decided to get undercover as quick as he could there could be Death Eaters lurking about. He scanned the cobbled street of large flowery cottages but found no movement, not even a curtain twitched and so pressing himself against the next door cottages wall he dug around in his rucksack for his Invisibility Cloak and stared around.

He had no idea where to go but one thing was certain he wanted to be as far away from Aunt Marge as possible. So what if she got herself killed looking for Riddle Harry tried to tell himself, she deserved it, he didn't care.

He approached the green in the middle of the village where he saw a bus stop. He would rather walk but in his present condition that was impractical. It was a Sunday and Harry noticed with irritation that there was only one bus scheduled for that day at one o'clock so he sat down on the bench by the bus stop, swallowed a couple of painkillers under his Invisibility Cloak and waited. In his pocket he fingered the broken remnants of his wand and feeling not for the first time a sense of loss at its demise, it was like he had lost a friend.

Soon the sun rose and the sleepy village was stroked by soft golden rays as it began to stir. A middle aged man took his dog out for a walk and at nine o'clock church bells started to ring. Harry felt his eyelids begin to droop. He tried to stay awake out of fear he might otherwise miss the bus but he had been up all night and every aching muscle in his body cried out for sleep.

_Suddenly he was in a richly laid out drawing room, the curtains were closed shrouding the room in darkness and a man with dark wavy hair lay whimpering on the floor whilst rage coursed through every fibre of his being._

_"Traitor" he hissed pointing Lucius Malfoy's wand at the wreck on the floor._

_"I swear I did not know my lord" the man whimpered "Draco and the mudblood tricked me."_

_"Crucio" Harry's high cold voice cried and the man screamed writhing on the floor in agony "You have failed me Lestrange, you revealed my secrets to her- you have betrayed me."_

_"No my lord" Rabastan Lestrange wept "I could never betray you; I am your most loyal servant." Harry was surprised he could still speak, clearly he had not been torturing the man hard enough "I thought she was a squib" Lestrange begged pitifully, tears tumbling from his eyes "Crabbe told me she was a squib."_

_"And I shall deal with Crabbe later" Harry said calmly "But he did not tell the mudblood of the truth of the Veil or of our little guest" Harry raised his ghostly white hand pointing his wand at Lestrange "Let us see how eagerly you betrayed Lord Voldemort...Legilimens!"_

_"Nooo" cried Lestrange._

_Suddenly Harry was in another dark room and this one looked to be a bedroom. Draco Malfoy stood in front of him his wand held aloft and a look of absolute fury on his face as he stared down Lestrange._

_"...she is mine" Lestrange was declaring and then suddenly._

_"Petrificus Totalus" a body binding spell shot straight at him snapping him tight and frozen as a statue. The caster was not Malfoy but a young girl with brown bushy hair and dressed in muggle clothes._

_Harry was back in the dark drawing room now; he stared coldly down at the weeping Lestrange "Pitiful" he sneered "You practically handed Black to them on a plate."_

Fiercely bright sunlight scorched through Harry's retina, he had fallen of the bench and lay on the grass staring at the afternoon sun above. Quickly he sat up and blinked rapidly trying to regain his vision. His Invisibility Cloak had fallen off and was now trapped beneath him so he was completely visible. The worst realisation however was the clock on the nearby church tower that read a quarter to two. Harry had missed the bus.

He could not bring himself to care though. Hermione was alive and by the looks of it had escaped the clutches of the Death Eaters. He didn't even care that Malfoy had apparently helped, happiness poured through every cell in his body. He recalled the vision with relief, seeing her standing there was the best thing that had happened since the wedding. If he only knew where she and Malfoy had gone.

An elderly couple passed by the village green. They stared at Harry rumpled, unshaven and lying on the grass, his Invisibility Cloak looking rather like a blanket now it was not on and tutted disapprovingly. Not wanting to attract any more attention Harry retreated to the alleyway next to the village shop. He slid down the wall and decided he would just have to sit there under his cloak until the next bus came on Monday morning. With a bit of luck he would later be able to sneak into the village shop and steal some food, his stomach ached.

It was easy not to think too much about it though as his mind was still racing with all that he had just seen. Hermione had been with Crabbe first and then he had given her to Lestrange telling her she was a squib. Harry tried not to think about what two Death Eaters would want with a young female inferior. She had met Malfoy somehow and they had escaped with Black.

Who on earth was that, there were no more Blacks unless you counted the Black sisters but they had all changed their names when they had married. Had Regulus somehow survived the cave and been kept captive all this time? No that couldn't be true, Dumbledore had been sure Voldemort believed his secret regarding the horcruxes to be safe and Kreacher would have never betrayed Sirius to Voldemort if the same wizard had kept Regulus locked up.

Harry had stopped himself from thinking about Sirius simply because it seemed ludicrous and would certainly end in disappointment. But Voldemort had mentioned the Veil. Maybe Hermione and Malfoy had somehow been able to recover Sirius's body, they had never found it after all but Harry hoped Hermione would not be stupid enough to risk herself for somebody who was already dead.

Harry willed himself not to be caught up in false hope but he could not help it. Of everything that he had heard only one answer seemed to fit - Sirius was alive.

No he suddenly told himself firmly, you mustn't think like that it's impossible. Wouldn't Dumbledore or somebody have known if the Veil couldn't kill? Just be grateful that Hermione is alive. But if he is…Voldemort definitely did say Black and the Veil.

These thoughts warred in Harry all afternoon until the evening. At one point he even wondered whether the vision had been false, something Voldemort was trying to use to trick him. But that didn't make sense he hadn't shown Hermione and Sirius trapped and in need of rescue he had shown their escape.

It was beginning to get dark now as late evening set in. The shop had long since shut but not before Harry had taken some cold wrapped sausage rolls, a carton of orange juice and a nice thick chocolate bar. When the cashier had gone to check something in the back he had left the money on the counter. He was now settling down in the alleyway, under his Invisibility cloak with his stomach somewhat filled and a jumper draped across his knees to trying and ward of the sinking temperatures. Every now and then he would pull the photo of Ginny out of his pocket and take a look before putting it back in, thinking about Ginny was painful. It was about half past seven now, less than twelve hours until the morning bus he counted.

Then suddenly Harry wasn't alone. A middle aged man, grey and wiry looking in a dirty looking coat with large rips in his jeans had sneaked into the alley and was peering sneakily out onto the village green. Harry wondered what he was looking at when he noticed that Aunt Marge was walking a couple of her bulldogs round the outskirts of the green, Ripper eagerly trotting at her heels.

She had had just neared the alleyway, when suddenly the man ran out. He ran straight at Aunt Marge wrestling the plain brown handbag from her arm. Marge was startled but nevertheless put up a struggle before she was shoved to the ground, her head hitting the concrete with a loud _smack_ and blood beginning to pool. The bulldogs began to whine piteously.

Harry felt an incomprehensible surge of rage that he could not even begin to explain and without thinking he leapt up and jumping over Marge ran after the thief. At some point over the village green his Invisibility Cloak ripped off but he didn't care. The thief seemed to have heard somebody was chasing him for he darted into a narrow cobbled lane. Harry ran after him passing a startled looking beefy man, he ran so fast that he did not notice the sudden sharp pain in his side. The thief was fast but he was not as fast as Harry and soon Harry was near enough to him to leap at him sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Harry wrestled the bag away from him and the two men fought, the thief kicking and scratching to get free.

The pain in Harry's side went almost blinding and he just about heard a loud growl and "Get back here you scoundrel" before he passed out.

**Please read and let me know what you think (both positive and negative criticism welcome)**


	17. The Grey Lady

Ron rocked back and forth on the soles of his feet crunching the crispy red early October leaves below the second hand trainers Snape had pilfered for him from Lost Property. He paced back and forth along the forest floor too excited for words. Soon, very soon he would see Hermione.

Whilst it was apparently completely out of the question for Ron to go with Snape to rescue her even under the Disillusionment Cloak Ron had been told much to his annoyance, he had managed to badger Snape into letting him wait outside the tunnel to the Headmaster's office. Ron suspected this was because Snape didn't fancy chasing another suspicious Gryffindor through the woods and the sight of Ron on Apparition might calm Hermione down enough to explain that Snape was really on their side. Snape hadn't explained how he was going to rescue Hermione although he hadn't seemed too worried about it so Ron tried not to be either.

It was getting difficult however not to worry, through the thick forest canopy it was beginning to get dark, Snape hadn't said what time he would be back but Ron couldn't help feeling that something must have gone wrong.

Just then there was the loud crack of Apparition and Ron was proved right. Snape had appeared a few feet in front of him and instantly crumpled to the ground; what's more he was alone.

"What happened?" Ron asked immediately running to him "Where's Hermione, did you get caught?"

"If I had been caught Mr Weasley I would not be alive" Snape sneered although his face was etched with pain and Ron saw his leg was bleeding heavily, the trouser leg was torn and a deep wound gushed rapidly.

"_Episkey_" Ron chanted pointing his wand but it did not work.

"It is a cursed wound Mr Weasley" Snape said looking even paler than normal and he ripped off a large section of cloak. He bent over to try and tie it round but started to sway a little.

"I'll do that" Ron said not wanting Snape to be distracted and he bound the cloth tightly around Snape's leg stemming the bleeding "What happened?" he repeated and voicing his worst fear "Is Hermione…"

"Miss Granger is fine" Snape said looking none too happy about the fact "She had already escaped when I arrived…there is more that I need to relay to the Headmaster."

Snape always referred to Dumbledore as the Headmaster as thought the man was still alive and Snape had not usurped his position. Ron breathed a sigh of relief and once he had finished binding Snape's wound swung his arm over his shoulders and began to help him through the tunnel to Hogwarts.

"Do you think she escaped because she saw you?" Ron asked as they walked.

"I am certain of it" Snape said "It was of her own free will she stayed with the Lestranges. She had access to a wand, polyjuice potion and outside help."

Ron frowned "How can she have had outside help, no-one in the Order knew where she was, Neville told me. And why would she choose to stay there?"

It was lucky Ron was strong as helping Snape stumble along the tunnel and up the stone steps to the Headmaster's Tower was no mean feat.

"From all accounts Draco Malfoy aided her as an accomplice." Snape said

"_Malfoy?_" Ron's eyebrows rose so high they almost disappeared into his hairline "Why would he help Hermione?"

"I have no idea" Snape drawled sounding thoroughly unconcerned "I only wish they would have waited a day or two and allowed me to orchestrate a more discrete exit."

"More discrete" Ron snorted "What did they do, write 'Death Eaters are Morons' on the house…"

He stopped they were outside the portrait hole now and he could hear voices coming from the Headmaster's office beyond.

"It's the Carrows" he whispered to Snape who shot him an annoyed look which quite clearly told him to shut up.

They stood for several minutes listening to the Carrows complain about Snape's running of Hogwarts to each other before they appeared to give up on the wait and left the office. Snape glanced at his watch as Ron heaved him into the office.

"I appear to have missed the staff meeting" he said dryly "How tragic."

Ron tried to stifle a snicker. There was an outpour of mutterings and questions from the portraits on the wall when Ron half dragged Snape across the office floor to the claw footed desk which he slumped behind.

"He wants a Blood Replenishing potion" the painting of Dilys Derwent instructed Ron "In the cabinet by the fireplace…that's it the blue bottle."

"What happened Severus?" Professor Dumbledore asked gravely.

Snape told Dumbledore what he had already told Ron in between swigging down gulps of Blood Replenishing potion. Ron meanwhile was back digging in the cabinet for Syrup of Belladonna which Professor Derwent told him would stop Snape's bleeding.

"Very interesting" Dumbledore said stroking his beard and looking to Snape's still bleeding leg "And I presume Tom was displeased with the events."

"Excessively" Snape said darkly "I informed him I could not be sure it was the girl and that I returned to Hogwarts to check her file. He believed me I'm sure or I would not still be alive but he still felt punishment was warranted."

"What did he do to Lestrange and Crabbe?" Ron asked finding the Belladonna and handing to Snape who administered it to his bloody leg which soon dried up.

"Crabbe is dead, so is his son" Snape informed them dully as if the news did not affect him in the slightest. Ron too could not feel sorry that Vincent Crabbe was dead, not after what his family had likely done to Hermione. "Rabastan Lestrange would be too if the Lestrange family were not otherwise in danger of dying out. I believe he will live as long as it takes to marry the Selwyn girl and get a son by her."

"And yet Runcorn and Yaxley are still alive" Dumbledore said in a leading voice "It is peculiar that Tom mourns the loss of one of Harry's friend much higher than the other, especially when you have always taken great care to inform him that Harry has no true friends but sycophants he cares nothing for."

"_Sycophants?_" Ron repeated feeling somewhat offended.

"It as a lie that has saved you and Miss Granger more times than you are aware of Mr Weasley" Dumbledore told him "Severus?"

"Black is alive" Snape said.

It was clear whatever Ron and Dumbledore had expected Snape to say it was not this.

"What you mean Sirius? But how?" Ron asked

Dumbledore frowned "That is not possible Severus, Sirius went through the Veil" he said gravely "There is no return from the land of the dead."

"It does not send one to the land of the dead or so I was informed this afternoon" Snape said "It is merely a portal, the other gateway lies in an underground chamber of Cathrack Tor. It was how the Death Eaters were able to get into the Ministry to attack Potter and his friends in the Department of Mysteries. They used it again this summer to kill Scrimgeour."

"No that doesn't make sense" Ron said puzzled "I saw the Veil, I felt it, it kills people I know it does."

"That apparently is the point" Snape said

"Ahhh" Dumbledore said knowingly "Trickery magic, an old and crude but powerful form of magic that produces delusions in the mind. One that convince witnesses so thoroughly they do not request evidence or analyse their beliefs with logic but merely accept the delusion as fact. The arch must have been enchanted by an exceptionally skilful wizard to hoodwink even myself if it is not too immodest to say so."

"From what I learnt it has been in the family for years, I doubt Rodolphus or Rabastan possess that kind of skill" Snape said scornfully.

"So Sirius has been alive all this time" Ron said suddenly feeling incredibly guilty, why had it never occurred to any of them to check what the Veil did, where it led? Why had they all just assumed it meant death? "And he's been a prisoner?"

Snape nodded "My guess is the Dark Lord planned to use him as bait to lure Potter when the time came, after all it worked once before" he looked to Dumbledore as if seeking validation that this was a reasonable theory, Dumbledore nodded "Miss Granger obviously discovered his presence whilst at the house. She must have been waiting for an opportunity to escape with Black more safely but when I arrived her hand was forced when she feared her cover was blown."

"So Rabastan took in the muggleborn friend of Harry Potter, believed she was a squib and revealed to her the secret of the Veil, the fact that Sirius Black is still alive and an opportunity to set him free. Sirius of course being the only bait, with the exception of Ginny Weasley, that has been used to successfully lure Harry into danger before." Dumbledore mused "On top of that she lured the only son of a prominent pureblood Death Eater to assist her in such dealings, my my, Rabastan really was quite lucky to get a minimum nine month reprieve was he not?"

Ron however was more concerned about Hermione "What do you mean more safely? She is alright isn't she, you said she got away."

"As far as I can tell she did" Snape replied "But the escape was discovered by Bellatrix. She, Draco and Black barely got away."

"And so now Mr Weasley it would seem you have a choice" Dumbledore announced

"I do?"

"Of course, Miss Granger and her companions will undoubtedly find their way back to the Order at some point and you have grown to trust Professor Snape enough to deliver Harry when the time comes" Dumbledore said "You may return to the Order and await Miss Granger's arrival or you may stay here and continue your work."

Ron was startled for a moment and he began to think. More than anything he wanted to see Hermione, it would be so tempting to ask Neville to put him back in touch with the Order. He could let his family know he was alive and then he and Hermione would set out to find Harry and hunt horcruxes as they had always planned.

Except they didn't know where Harry was and they had been relying on him to lead their search to point him in the right direction. He might never get the chance to search the castle if he left now, what if Snape was discovered to be a spy and it became too dangerous to come back? Then there was the matter of who Luna and he were trying to meet.

Ron thought of Hermione, his body and heart ached to see her again. But she was safe now and he wanted her to stay that way. Truthfully if he thought he would have been able suggest it without getting cursed to bits Ron would have asked her not to come on the horcrux hunt in the first place. Harry got to keep the girl he loved safe, why couldn't Ron do the same now? Even if she didn't find the Order now Ron knew she would be safe with Sirius…even if they were with _Malfoy_.

Ron could feel Snape and Dumbledore watching him with curiosity.

"I think I'll stay here for a bit" Ron said not really wanting to qualify his reasoning "Just until I've hit all the dead ends, then I'll go back."

.

"This really is ingenious" Luna whispered as they walked carefully along the third floor underneath Ron's Disillusionment Cloak tracking the path of Helena Ravenclaw with the Marauder's Map "Harry's dad and Professor Lupin made it?"

"Yep, them and Sirius Black" Ron said "Although I think they had used it for slightly more fun activities."

Luna's face dropped and Ron realised what his last sentence must have sounded like.

"Oh no I didn't mean it like that; I just meant it's rather tiring tracking a ghost who can go through walls at a whim." He said hurriedly "I'm glad I'm doing it with you though, I didn't even know the Grey Lady was Ravenclaw's daughter."

Luna smiled "Most people outside of Ravenclaw don't" she confided "Lady Helena doesn't like the other houses much; she's very much a snob." She said this in such a sunny way Ron couldn't be sure if it was a criticism or an observation.

They passed by the Transfiguration room and a large sign that Neville and Hannah had painted the previous night that read 'DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY: STILL RECRUITING'.

"They used permanent sticking paint" Luna whispered as they passed. The night air blew in from a nearby open window and Ron suddenly breathed in the smell of tulips from Luna "Alecto Carrow was so cross when she saw it this morning. She tried to blow the wall down but the castle wouldn't let her. Professor McGonagall said the castle forbids any magic that would cause structural damage but I think it's because it's really on our side."

There was something so unbelievably optimistic about this, the idea that even the stonework had declared it's loyalty to Dumbledore and Harry that Ron couldn't help but smile.

"Oh look there she is" Luna pointed and Ron saw excitedly that the Grey Lady had floated up through several floors and was now just a few feet below of them in second floor classroom.

"Brilliant"

Quickly scanning the map for teachers and finding non Ron seized Luna's hand and ran along the corridor, down a spiral staircase and into the occupied classroom.

"Oh, students" the ghost of a beautiful young woman said disdainfully. Helena Ravenclaw hovered a few feet above the floor looking ethereal in the moonlight as she gazed out of the arched windows at the silver coated grounds.

"Hello Lady Helena" Luna said sunnily "This is Ronald, he has something he would like to ask you"

"Does he?" Helena sneered

"Yes I do" Ron said approaching the ghost tentatively fearing she would float suddenly through the castle walls "I need to know anything you can tell me about Ravenclaw's lost diadem."

A cold smile curved her lips.

"I am afraid," she said, turning to leave, "that I cannot help you."

"Wait!" Ron hissed urgently, if she went now who knew when he would be able to track her down again "_Please,_ this is important"

Helena turned back and gave him a pitying hateful look "You are hardly the first student to covet the diadem." she said disdainfully. "Generations of students have badgered me, seeking to _impress their friends_ or _get a better mark_."

She made to leave again and this time it was Luna who stopped her.

"But not me" she said quietly but with confidence, in the moonlight, she looked almost as other worldly as the Grey Lady. "I know I haven't always been the Ravenclaw you had hoped for, I know I have never brought our house glory and at times you felt ashamed of me but I would never covet such an object just to do well in a test and I would never aid another in doing so. I am proud to be a Ravenclaw, I am proud to wake up every day in a house that honours originality and does not accept things for what they appear to be. I fear it would make me bleed from within if we used our House's, your mother's greatest treasure for our own petty ends."

Ron stared at her, utterly mesmerised and speechless to boot. He had absolutely no idea how much of that speech Luna meant and apparently neither did Helena. Ghosts could not blush but her checks definitely turned more opaque.

"And the boy" she looked at Ron with revulsion "_He_ is not one of us."

"Ron swears he will not do anything to tarnish the name of Ravenclaw don't you Ronald?"

"Absolutely" Ron said quickly, nodding fervently "I swear, of course I do."

Helena looked at him enquiringly as if sizing him up "Very well then, what do you want with my mother's diadem"

Ron gulped fully aware he only had one shot at this, Luna sent him an encouraging look "It's about You Know Who, we need it to defeat You Know Who"

Helena sent him a cold look "The diadem will not help you with that, it only grants wisdom not power" she rounded on Luna and accused "You see, he only seeks personal glory, it is the same of all men."

"No, please" Ron begged when she looked to be in danger of leaving again "I don't want to wear it, I don't care about glory. I just want to stop Riddle" she didn't say anything and Ron began to feel angry "Don't you care what they are doing to this school, don't you care what they are doing to the Ravenclaws, to Luna?"

Luna wrapped her arms round her mid-section self-consciously; she had not told him what happened in the detentions she and Neville often received but he had a nasty suspicion it was not lines.

"I…I…of course I care" Helena stammered whilst trying to maintain her regal pose.

"Then tell me" Ron begged.

Helena gave a deep sigh and looked once more out the window. Ron was just about to give up when she spoke in a whisper.

"I stole the diadem." She looked solemnly across the Black Lake speaking as though she was confessing, as though Ron and Luna were not there at all "I sought to make myself cleverer, more important than my mother. I ran away with it."

Luna sat down behind one of the desks to listen with interest whilst Ron remained standing on tenterhooks.

"My mother, they say, never admitted that the diadem was gone, but pretended that she had it still. She concealed her loss, my dreadful betrayal, even from the other founders of Hogwarts."

"Then my mother fell ill, fatally ill. In spite of my perfidy, she was desperate to see me one more time. She sent a man who had long loved me, though I spurned his advances, to find me. She knew that he would not rest until he had done so."

Ron held his breath waiting.

"He tracked me to the forest where I was hiding. When I refused to return with him, he became violent. The baron was always a hot-tempered man. Furious at my refusal, jealous of my freedom, he stabbed me."

Ron frowned "The Baron? You mean…"

"The Bloody Baron, yes," said Helena, and she lifted aside the cloak she wore to reveal a single dark wound in her white chest.

"When he saw what he had done, he was overcome with remorse. He took the weapon that had claimed my life, and used it to kill himself. All these centuries later, he wears his chains as an act of penitence"

"How sad" Luna whispered

"It is only fitting" Helena said bitterly

"And the diadem?" Ron asked hesitantly

"It remained where I had hidden it when I heard the Baron blundering through the forest toward me. Concealed inside a hollow tree."

"Which tree? Where is it?" Ron asked eagerly

"A forest in Albania. A lonely place I thought was far beyond my mother's reach."

_Albania, _and memories came rushing back to Ron. Memories of being told You Know Who was gathering his strength in Albania, of Bertha Jorkins going missing on her way to her cousins in Albania, or Pettigrew rescuing You Know Who in Albania and of Harry last year recalling how a young Tom Riddle had left Hogwarts to go travelling – most likely in _Albania_.

"You told him where to find it didn't you" Ron said quietly trying to make it sound as little like an accusation as he could "You told Riddle"

She closed her eyes and nodded.

"I had... no idea... He was flattering. He seemed to... understand... to sympathize..."

Ron thought of Ginny in her first year at Hogwarts, "Yeah well you weren't the only one he tricked" but then again he thought bitterly Ginny had only been eleven. "You don't know where he took it."

Helena shook her head mournfully.

Ron wanted to ask more but he felt a small hand on his arm and Luna told him gently "Come on Ronald, Helena's told us everything she can for tonight." And she led him reluctantly out of the room.

Ron was felt only slightly better when he returned to the Headmaster's Tower later that night. True now he definitely knew that Ravenclaw's diadem had been used as a horcrux but he still had no idea where the bloody thing was. He had the nagging feeling he was forgetting somewhere, as though there was a really obvious place he had not checked. Thoughts like this made Ron's head hurt and the next evening as Luna had detention again he decided to stay in and play chess with Snape.

Ron never thought he would voluntarily engage in any activity with Snape but he rather enjoyed playing chess with the dour dark Professor. He had never won but his game had improved vastly for the first time in years. Snape meanwhile made no attempt at small talk during these games but he did not tell Ron to get lost.

That night he sat by the fire in the sitting room with his injured leg propped up on a footstall, smirking as Ron pondered how to avoid check mate. He was on his third glass of firewhiskey, when Ron decided to ask him a question that had been on his mind for a while.

"Why would Malfoy help Hermione?"

"I have not a clue" Snape drawled lazily "Most likely he wished to escape the Death Eaters as much as she did. Draco took to the Dark Mark like a lead weight to water."

"He's supposed to hate her" Ron said, it was still a bit strange adjusting to this new world where Snape was good, Neville commanded a secret school army and Malfoy rescued muggleborns and Order members.

"I know it will pain you to hear but you and your friends are not the sole focus of Draco's world. I imagine he's moved on since eleven"

"Fifteen" Ron corrected "He was still calling Hermione a mudblood when he was fifteen"

Something dark glared in Snape's eyes and his face contorted in a way that suggested he was trying to stop himself from saying something. He apparently managed for all he uttered was a rather weak "Whatever, are you planning to move anytime this century?"

"He used to look at her a lot" Ron accused ordering his knight to take Snape's castle. The little marble knight swung the castle round its head before letting it go flying half way across the room. Crookshanks who was lying stretched out by the fire ran to play with the shaken little figure. "In potions" Ron qualified "He would always look at her when he didn't think anyone else was watching"

"I wasn't aware you watched Mr Malfoy so much" Snape smirked.

"I didn't, I was watching Hermione too" Ron protested "So obviously we were looking in the same direction and I saw him watching her."

"Indeed" Snape drawled listlessly stroking his chin and contemplating the board.

"It's rubbish being in love" Ron complained.

"You are not in love" Snape told him casually directing his bishop to check Ron's king with ease, Ron however didn't care.

"Yes I am" he spluttered "I've loved Hermione for years; I told you I'd die for her"

"Yes you love her but that does not mean you are in love with her. The two are quite different things"

Ron didn't appreciate being told how he felt "No, I love my family and Harry and the thing I feel for Hermione is different."

"Yes it is called lust"

"No its not" Ron said angrily "I know what I feel, what makes you think you know better?"

Snape narrowed his eyes "Love is above all things selfish, if you were truly in love with Miss Granger you would return to her instead of staying here to finish whatever Dumbledore has asked of you."

Ron's mouth opened and closed like a fish "That's not true" he said "Harry and Lupin left..."

But then he remembered that Harry and Lupin had both left the women they loved because they believed their presence would cause them danger. Lupin had even given in and gone back and Harry had gone ahead and kissed Ginny at the Burrow when they were supposedly broken up.

"What do you know about it anyway?" he said petulantly as though he was five and Snape had taken away his toy broomstick "Have you ever been in love?"

There was a long pause and Ron was so busy focusing back on the chess board he did not notice that Snape had frozen at first.

They he saw Snape's eyes and realised that they looked horribly sad.

"I'm sorry" Ron said quickly "You don't have to answer if you..."

"Yes" Snape said hoarsely as if he had not heard Ron, he was staring transfixed into the fire, his knuckles white as he gripped the half-finished glass of firewhiskey.

"What...what happened?" Ron asked tentatively.

A look of hatred so violent passed over Snape's face Ron almost recoiled "The Dark Lord killed her" he spat "I begged him not to but he did it anyway"

Ron gulped "So that's why...that's why you're on our side now?" he guessed.

Snape nodded and gulped down the remainder of his firewhiskey. "We'll finish this tomorrow" he stood up gesturing to the board before hobbling upstairs.

"You know you may be the first friend Severus has had in a long time" a quiet voice said from the corner. Dumbledore had been listening.

"Why didn't he tell anyone?" Ron asked "Everybody else lost somebody, Harry and Neville lost their parents, Mum lost Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon. If people knew they might have trusted him more."

"Severus as you must have realised by now is not a man to keep his pain on his sleeve" Dumbledore said sadly "There are many of us too proud to show the scars we wear."

Ron frowned "It's nothing to be ashamed of, missing someone you loved."

"No indeed not" Dumbledore said and he sounded a little proud of Ron "But as with all things it is the circumstances of the matter that count the most."

Ron wanted to ask what these were but he knew better than to get an answer.

oOoOoOo

Harry's eyelids fluttered open and he found himself lying on a coarse woolly bed staring at a framed black and white photo of a very large man in a red coat and riding cap sitting on top of a small white pony that seemed to be straining under the wright of him. He was in a small rather old fashioned looking bedroom with striped blue wallpaper and scores of photos of dogs and people on horses lining the walls.

There was a loud tut of disapproval to the left of him and Harry turned round to see Aunt Marge coming into the room carrying a tray of steaming tea and cornflakes. She had a small bandage of her forehead where she had hit her head when the mugger had knocked her over.

"So you're awake are you?" she said with pursed lips and put the tray in front of Harry. "And about time to, eat up; you're weedy enough as it is."  
Harry looked at her in astonishment; Aunt Marge was bringing _him_ food – it was almost as if Professor McGonagall was handing out dung bombs.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"Where are you indeed, what a ridiculous question." she scoffed sitting down in the armchair beside Harry's bed "You are in my spare room of course, do you think I go around serving food in other people's households."

"But why?" Harry frowned, utterly perplexed and still not touching the cornflakes in front of him "You hate me."

Harry didn't know if it was his imagination or not but Aunt Marge went a little pink "Yes well, after you foolishly ran after Wesley Greber your stitches tore and we couldn't just leave you there making a mess of the pavement" she sniffed "Colonel Fubster wanted to take you to hospital but as you're supposedly on the run from some master criminal I didn't think that was a particularly good idea. So I had you patched up by Dr Graves and put in here."

Harry stared at her, she had rendered him almost speechless "Er…" he said stupidly and then saying the first thing he could think of asked "Whose Wesley Greber?"

Aunt Marge's face contorted into an ugly expression "He used to be an architect that lived nearby but he couldn't handle his drink" she sneered "The business went under and he lost his house, the vicar's been putting him up ever since. Well since Sunday evening at any rate, after you ran him down he disappeared off into the night. Nobody's seen him since."

"Right" Harry said slowly and realising that once again he had lost his things, including with horror the locket "My stuff." He said with panic "My backpack, I left it in the…"

"Alley by the village shop. Yes Ripper sniffed it out." Marge finished and she nodded towards the corner of the room where to Harry's relief lay his backpack. He exhaled in reprieve and sank pack into his propped up pillows.

"Now Potter" Marge said with narrowed eyes and from her pocket she pulled a long silvery stretch of cloth "I was wondering whether you could tell me why you have a blanket that turns things invisible, several books where the pictures move and I have suddenly remembered an incident several years ago at my brothers where I swelled like a balloon and drifted over into Kent."

**A new chapter at last! The good news is I have now finished this story in draft form - I would not let myself update until I had done so. So the remaining chapters will go up in the next few weeks as I give them a final polish.**

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story so far (both positive and negative criticism welcome.)**


	18. Revelations

Harry had never had to reveal the magical world to anybody before. Maybe it was because he was tired of feeling isolated or grateful or still in shock over Aunt Marge's hospitality but somehow he found himself telling her everything. And everything was a lot, he soon realised why Hagrid had kept so much back when filling him in, it took hours.

By mid-afternoon Harry had explained about witches and wizards, Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, obliviators, the notion of blood supremacy and Riddle and his Death Eaters.

Marge eyed him shrewdly "I always knew there was something funny about you Potter" she murmured "Resilient too apparently. You're hardier than you look."

"Thanks" Harry was not sure if that was a compliment or not.

"So" Marge clapped her hands together, she seemed to be taking this remarkably in her stride but then Harry realised she had probably stayed up reading all the books he had taken from the Den "What does this Riddle want with you then, if your parents were you know…different too then why's he's after you?"

"It's complicated" Harry hesitated unsure how much to tell her "He thinks I'm the only one who can kill him."

"And can you?" Aunt Marge challenged.

"I thought I could" Harry replied honestly "But now I'm not that sure." He thought of his broken wand, the absence of Ron and Hermione, the Horcrux that he could not destroy and it's siblings he could not locate.

"Well you'll just have to _be_ sure" Marge commanded picking up his finished breakfast tray "I'm not letting my brother and nephew be threatened by some madman. Once you've recovered we'll show him what for."

oOoOoOo

"You want to strip him?" Malfoy stared down at the unconscious Sirius in disgust.

"Well we can't very well leave him like that" Hermione exclaimed, the rags Sirius was draped in were caked in dirt, crusted with blood and let off an almighty stink "It's alright I have some of Ron's clothes, he should be able to fit into those."

"And what about me?" Malfoy made a show of looking at his robes that he had escaped in two days ago "I'm not wearing anything of Weasley's"

"Then you can wear Harry's stuff, although it used to belong to his cousin so it's a bit big."

Eventually Malfoy decided in the interest of wearing clothes made for a human rather than small blue whale to put on some of Ron's clothes. Then together they lifted Sirius about on the camp bed as they tried to redress him. An awkward moment arrived when they realised they would have to take off both his trousers and pants to put clean ones on.

"Switching spell?" Malfoy suggested weakly.

Hermione glared at him "How many wizards do you know like magic performed in...that area?" she stuttered a little at the end going faintly pink.

"Well I'm not touching it" Malfoy shrugged "Goyle tried to do an enlargement charm down there once. Moron, he ended up almost blowing it up, was in the hospital wing for weeks."

"Poor Madam Pomfrey" Hermione muttered and then steeling her resolve took a deep breath "I'll do it."

Malfoy looked at her warily as she approached the top button on Sirius's trousers with great hesitation. Then out of nowhere the image of Bardus Crabbe unbuttoning his fly in front of her and asking her to make him very happy hurtled to the front of her mind. She flinched backwards violently and started breathing quickly.

"What was that?" Malfoy asked tentatively

"Nothing, I'm fine" Hermione said resolutely, swallowing down her apprehension and walking back to the bed. She willed her hands to move forward to Sirius but they remained frozen by her side.

Malfoy made a loud show of scoffing "Honestly Granger, I'll do it, you'll only get it wrong anyway"

Hermione left the tent trying to steady her breathing. _You're being silly_ she told herself, _Crabbe is hundreds of miles away and Sirius is unconscious, what's more he would never hurt you even if he was awake._

Soft gentle sunlight dropped through the red and gold leaves making Hermione feel more at peace. She breathed in some of that fresh autumn air that had been denied to her for so long. The Forest of Dean was spectacular in the autumn with the trees in multicolour splendour. She would be sorry to leave here when Sirius regained his strength and they could Apparate once more.

A few minutes later Malfoy stormed out of the tent marching past Hermione shouting "If Potter wins I better get a fucking Order of Merlin for that Granger!"

Hermione hid a smile and went back inside the tent to apply more healing charms to the newly dressed Sirius.

That night they ate fish Malfoy had summoned from the river. Neither knew how to cook and they were not particularly appetising but better than the dodgy looking mushrooms they had scavenged the previous night. Malfoy took the first watch after dinner as Hermione snuggled up in one of the bunk beds reading everything she could about Gringotts in one of the books she had stolen from Rabastan. From all her books she was struggling to find that much information on the security measures surrounding the high security vaults. She had heard rumours of dragons but nothing to that effect was written down. Then there was the worry of what she would actually do with the Horcrux if she found it, they were still no closer to finding out how to destroy them. Yawning she lay down on her bed and tried to get some rest before her turn to keep watch and thought with comfort that soon she would be back with the Order and Harry and Ron.

Bright light shone in Hermione's eyes waking her up the next morning and with irritation she realised she was still lying in her camp bed. Malfoy had once again forgotten to wake her up for her shift and was now snoring loudly on the bunk bed on top of her.

Scowling at his reckless attitude to security she got up and went straight to the copper kettle to brew a nice cup of tea. The days were getting shorter as October progressed and it was definitely getting colder inside the tent. Hermione lit the little stove with her wand when she saw something that made her blood stop. Sirius's bed was empty.

She ran outside with her wand raised in panic and stopped short when she saw the man in question standing in the forest clearing staring out in contemplation.

"You're awake" she said quietly careful not to startle him.

Sirius didn't turn round "Where are we?"

"The Forest of Dean" Hermione told him "I came here once with Mum and Dad."

Sirius turned to look at her "You've grown" he said in an almost paternal manner.

Hermione smiled and then edging forwards she tentatively wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so sorry"

Sirius let go of her and frowned "What are you sorry for?"

"We left you in that horrid place" she admitted guiltily "We didn't search for you, Harry wanted to go after you into the veil but Professor Lupin held him back. We thought you were dead."

"Then I'm in debt to Remus" Sirius said "Hermione you saved my life for a second time, I'm grateful. None of you has anything to be sorry for."

Hermione smiled "Would you like some breakfast - you must be hungry, you haven't eaten real food for three days."

Sirius nodded and they went back inside the tent where Hermione put the kettle on and began to cook some eggs that Malfoy had stolen from a nearby farm.

"Whose clothes am I wearing by the way?" Sirius asked.

"Ron's, before I was captured we were supposed to go away with Harry, that's why I've got the tent."

"Ah" Sirius said looking around and he eyes falling on the snoring Malfoy at the other end of the tent. He didn't look surprised, Hermione supposed he must have seen him when he first woke up.

"So that was who was pretending to be Rabastan" Sirius said thoughtfully "Lucius Malfoy's son."

Hermione nodded "He helped us escape."

"Now why would he do a thing like that?"

Hermione spooned sugar into the two empty mugs "I don't think being a Death Eater is all it's cracked up to be" she confided in a whisper

"No" Sirius gave a dark chuckle looking back at Malfoy "I imagine it's not."

"He didn't know you were alive, nobody did" Hermione told him "Rabastan said if Mrs Malfoy knew you were alive she'd demand you have a quick painless death."

Sirius gave a dark smirk "Always was a softie our Cissy."

Hermione finished pouring the tea and stirred the scrambled eggs once more.

"I'm afraid we don't have ketchup or much of anything really" she told him heaping out the eggs and they sat down at the table "I was saving packing the food till last"

"You were planning on going on the run" Sirius surmised.

"Yes."

"Why? Why leave the Weasleys and the Order."

Hermione spoke carefully "Dumbledore gave Harry a job to do, and Ron and I were going to help him."

Sirius narrowed his eyes "What kind of job?"

Hermione shrugged "Just a job" she said as casually as she could.

"Right" Sirius said slowly and sceptically.

He was looking at her clearly wanting to ask more questions. Hermione avoided his eyes and attacked her eggs with gusto hoping he'd ask about anything else.

"How did it happen?" Sirius asked eventually "How did Dumbledore die?"

Anything except that.

"I..." Hermione looked around, Malfoy was snoring. As much as she wanted to forestall Sirius's reaction to this perhaps it was better they had this conversation whilst Malfoy was unconscious "It happened at Hogwarts, w…we were betrayed."

Sirius's eyes darkened "By who?"

Hermione room a deep breath and stared at him stoically "Snape" she said "It was Snape, he killed Dumbledore. Harry saw him do it."

Sirius sat there motionless for a long time "I don't understand" he said quietly.

"You were right, Harry was right" She told him trying to inject her tone with a degree of apology. All those times she had told Harry that Dumbledore trusted Snape… "He never really did change sides."

Sirius got up and began to pace breathing hard, with each short breath his face seemed to get angrier.

""How could Dumbledore let this happen? We told him what Snape was, we all told him!"

Hermione held her tongue, she didn't really know if she was meant to say anything.

"Why, why did he do it?" Sirius demanded and Hermione didn't know whether he was talking about Snape or Dumbledore now. He looked pained but his breathing had slowed a little bit indicating he might be beginning to calm down.

"Sirius, there's something else" She said carefully, she dreaded what she would have to tell him but if there was anyone besides Harry who had a right to know it was Sirius "The reason Dumbledore always trusted Snape, it was because Snape did something awful…really awful. Dumbledore believed he did it by accident and that he was so regretful of what he'd done he decided to switch sides because of it."

"What?" Sirius asked tiredly not sounding that interested as if as far as he was concerned next to murdering Dumbledore it really didn't matter.

"Snape was the one..." Hermione started and Sirius noticing her strained tone began to pay more attention to what she was saying "Snape...Well he was the person who listened in the night Professor Dumbledore first met Trelawney. He was the one who heard the prophecy and told You Know Who about it."

Sirius did not move for a second and then he began to grow very red. Hermione was scared he might explode but then suddenly he stormed out of the tent.

Taken aback it took Hermione a couple of seconds to jump up and run after him "Sirius" she called as they passed through the protective enchantments "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going?" he spat without stopping "Hogwarts!"

"You can't" Hermione protested.

Sirius stopped rounding suddenly angrily "Hermione that scum is the reason my best friend is dead, he killed Dumbledore. He's the reason Harry had to live like this, trust me I'll be merciful by just killing him."

"No" Hermione protested almost running after him, he had a much longer stride than she did "It's too dangerous and you don't know if you can Apparate yet. What are you going to do walk there?"

"I've done it before" Sirius spat.

"You don't even have a wand!"

"I don't need a wand" Sirius growled "I'm going to tear that traitor limb from limb with my own hands."

Hermione stared hopelessly as he walked ahead of her "Mad Eye Moody is dead!" she shouted.

Sirius stopped in his tracks, he didn't turn around but his fists clenched by his sides. "What?"

"You Know Who killed him three months ago" Hermione said firmly and then glad to have just got him to stop moving she continued "Emmeline Vance is dead too, she was killed last year and so was Amelia Bones."

Sirius turned round once more and looked at her accusingly "You told me everyone else was fine"

"You were half dead" Hermione protested weakly "What else could I say?"

Sirius scowled and looked down at the leafy earth. He twitched a little which made Hermione fear he was going to move again.

"Please don't go. I need you" she begged "They'll be watching everywhere; I don't know how to get back to the others without getting caught. We need to get back to Ron, Harry and the Order, we have to go back to help Harry."

She could see he was beginning to soften "Please Sirius, you chose revenge over Harry once before and it nearly cost you your life. Please don't do it again."

Sirius looked pained as though he was physically restraining himself. Eventually to Hermione's relief he simply said "Very well".

As they walked back, rich red autumn leaves crunching below their feet Sirius asked with despondency "So did anything good happen whilst I was away."

"Oh yes" Hermione said brightly suddenly remembering something "Professor Lupin and Tonks got married."

"Ha!" Sirius gave his bark like laugh that Hermione had not heard for so long and his face split into a wide grin as his eyes shone with delight. "I knew he was dotty over her, I bloody knew it! Brilliant, Bill owes me five galleons."

.

"I know where we can go" Sirius told them a few hours later. As much as possible he had taken to staying outdoors in the fresh air and so she and Malfoy sat with him outside the tent round a jar of Hermione's bluebell flames.

"It's a little hidey hole Remus used to have, if I know him he'll be there now."

"They'll be watching anywhere that's associated with the Order" Malfoy said. After meeting both he and Sirius had been rather wary of each other, taking turns to size one another up.

Sirius shook his head "Remus only told me, James, Lily and Peter about it and I'll be damned if Peter can remember where it is because I bloody can't."

Malfoy snorted and mumbled "Well that's a big help."

"I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas boy" Sirius shot back.

Malfoy looked as though he was about to say something but Hermione intervened "Sirius, Malfoy does how a point, how can we go there if you don't remember where it is?"

"Oh I'll be able to sniff it out" Sirius said confidently.

Malfoy shot him a derisive look but said nothing.

"When do you think you'll be able to change into Padfoot again?" Hermione asked.

"Not too long" Sirius said casually "I'll need a wand if I'm to practice Apparating again though"

He looked at Malfoy as though expecting him to give up Rabastan's wand. Malfoy clutched it tighter ignoring him.

"You can borrow mine" Hermione sighed "Just don't push yourself" she warned "You're still ill, don't go trying to be a hero."

Sirius snorted "Hark who's talking" then he became serious "You shouldn't have rescued me, you had access to polyjuice potion, you should have escaped as soon as you could."

"I couldn't just leave you there."

"I'm not an idiot Hermione, I know what Death Eaters would want with a young female captive" Sirius told her and Hermione winced and stared resolutely back into the blue flames wishing he would shut up "Next time run, as soon as you can and don't look back" he ordered before rounding on Malfoy "And you, don't you ever sit by and let her do something that stupid again or you'll have me to answer to!"

"Let me..." Hermione started incredulously.

"It wasn't my fault" Malfoy protested "If it was up to me you would still be in chains."

"So why aren't I?" Sirius exclaimed angrily.

"This is ridiculous..." Hermione tried to say but the two men were not listening to her

"She doesn't listen to a word I say, what was I supposed to do - drag her away kicking and screaming?"

"If it saves her life then yes!"

"What do you know, you're the one who keeps getting locked up" Malfoy snorted "You can't even keep yourself safe, let alone her and Potter."

Sirius glared at him and then looked at Hermione "You're willing to trust him after what Snape did?"

"I'm not Snape" Malfoy said furiously through gritted teeth.

"I trust him" Hermione said quietly and Malfoy's head swung round to look at her so fast she was surprised his neck did not snap off. There was a strange searching look in his eyes.

"This could be trick" Sirius said suspiciously "You Know Who's lost his spy in the Order, maybe this is a trick – maybe he's the new spy."

Hermione felt more than a little uncomfortable that Sirius would lay such an accusation in front of Malfoy "I've known him for years Sirius" she told him firmly "Much longer than I've known you. He's a prat yes, but he's not a Death Eater."

This did not look as though it completely satisfied Sirius but nevertheless he did not bring up the issue again.

oOoOoOo

"This is hopeless" Ron groaned lying back on the large cushions on the floor of the Room of Requirement "We must have looked everywhere."

"No, we haven't" Luna said breezily "We haven't looked in the kitchens or the greenhouses or the house common rooms"

Ron groaned "Yes well I'll save the Slytherin Common room until I really am desperate, I'd rather not be killed just yet."

"You're right, we'll save that one for last" Luna said.

Ron grimaced, he didn't say because he knew she would object but there's no way he was going to let Luna come sneaking about the snake pit with him.

"We could try the kitchens" she suggested scanning the list she had made; such behaviour would have reminded Ron of Hermione had she not written the letters of the words vertically.

"Nah it's too ordinary to hide something like that" Ron protested "Besides I keep having these nagging doubts that I'm missing something really bloody obvious"

"Like what?"

"Oh I don't know, like I've been there and missed it" Ron said trying to explain his anxiety "I mean who's to say if we find the right place we'll find the diadem. I know how to recognise some dark magic but I'm not You Know Who."

"I don't think that's likely" Luna said confidently.

"Why not?"

"Because everyone says Dumbledore was the only one that He Who Must Not be Named was afraid of, I don't think he'd dare perform really dark magic right under Dumbledore's nose, and in his school no less."

"He opened the Chamber of Secrets"

"So did you and Harry, that's not dark magic" Luna dismissed "Salazar Slytherin was the one who built the chamber and hatched the basilisk."

"You know what that actually makes sense" Ron said and Luna looked a little upset at this pronouncement as though she had developed a fault. Ron however was buoyed by the knowledge he probably hadn't missed it so he jumped to his feet and clapped his hands together.

"OK, we need to be logical" he said decisively "It's in a place of grandeur but also secrecy, students have been searching for the diadem for centuries so it would need to be really well hidden. If you were You Know Who and you were looking to hide something where would you do it?"

Luna shrugged "I don't hide things, secrecy attracts Wiggly Warglers. I have an infestation this year because of all my work with the DA."

Ron put his finger to his lip and paced. Up until five he had always hid stuff under the bed but then Fred and George had found his stash of Chocolate frogs. Then until twelve it had been a the back of the wardrobe until once again the twins had found his box of Dung Bombs and used them on Percy. Since then he had stashed his goods in his clothes in his trunk, the last of which was that hideous necklace Lavender had given him and probably still back at the Burrow in a pair of rolled up socks.

Then he thought about Harry and Hermione. He had never dared ask Hermione where her hiding places were and Harry like him usually kept things hidden within the messy clothes of his trunk with the exception of...

"Bloody hell Luna!"

Luna jumped at the exclamation.

"We are stupid; I mean we are really _really_ stupid, like spectacularly monumentally thick"

"We are?" Luna asked happily.

"Of course, don't you see there is no place in Hogwarts that could hide the diadem in both grandeur and secrecy."

Luna frowned "There isn't?"

"No" Ron said excitedly grinning down at her "And what do you do when the Castle can't provide you with something you require" he gestured wildly around at the Room of Requirement "You ask for it!"

Luna's eyes widened and the pair of them broke into exclamations of glee, Luna even got up to hug Ron in excitement which left him quite red.

"Come on, no time like the present" She smiled.

Together they ran out the room, almost forgetting to pull the Disillusionment Cloak on before they left and began to pace the seventh floor corridor outside.

_We need the room of hidden things_ Ron chanted firmly in his head over and over again _Please show us a place you can hide something_.

After their third attempt the door to the Room of Requirement reappeared and tentatively Ron and Luna opened it.

Whatever euphoria they had previously felt vanished instantly. A large cavernous room as big as a cathedral spread out before them with shelves and stacks of treasures of Hogwarts students long gone that were higher than even the Burrow itself. There were piles of broken furniture, Fanged Frisbees, banned books and a faint scuttling sound that suggested somebody had once hid a pet in here which had since bred.

"Accio Ravenclaw's Diadem" Luna chanted but nothing happened

"This will take us years" Ron said hoarsely.

"No it won't" Luna said brightly "As you said lets be logical" she walked forwards an examined the shelf nearest to her, picking through a box of fireworks and an old jack in the box to find a shuffle full of parchment.

"Love letters" she said looking at the parchment "From Nigel Harlock to Octavia Montague dated Decembr 1996. Who would write a love letter to Octavia Montague?" she scrunched up her face in disgust "So the section nearest us must be the most recent, the room probably expands as more stuff gets added. That means if we want older stuff, we'll have to go further in"

Ron looked at her in amazement "You're brilliant" he marvelled.

Luna blushed.

They walked quickly through the stacks stopping once in a while to look at things to try and measure what time period they were in. At one point they encountered a blood stained axe and some potions that had reached their sell by date in the 1920s and realised they had gone too far.

"Harry said Riddle vanished right after Hogwarts and Dumbledore reckoned he probably went to Albania for the first time then. That must mean he got the diadem sometime after 1943" Ron thought aloud trying to remember the dates Dumbledore's portrait had told him that morning as he walked through the shelves passing a muggle World War Two gas mask, Luna following close behind. "But he didn't come to Hogwarts again until he asked for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post, so he would have had the chance to hide it here sometime in the mid Fifties."

They both peered intently at these new shelves, passing a stack of hula hoops that span round and round in the air by themselves and a few old fashioned looking broomsticks. Ron jumped back when he opened a wardrobe to reveal the skeleton of a large domestic cat with three heads and several legs. He was just about to point this out to Luna who would undoubtedly appreciate the weirdness of it when she spoke softly, tugging at his sleeve.

"Look"

Ron followed her gaze and there it was. Though the gold was slightly faded the diadem still glinted in the candlelight as a delicately carved eagle framed a large oval sapphire that sat in the middle of a tiara which was perched almost comically on top of a chipped bust of an old warlock.

"It's like it's been waiting for us." Luna said with awe and the two slowly approached it as though they were frightened it would run away. She picked it up carefully and examined it in her hands before frowning "It's not right" she said unhappily "It doesn't feel right, it doesn't feel like…"  
"Ravenclaw?" Ron suggested and then noticing her confused face said "You Know Who did something to it." He explained.

"Here" Luna held out the diadem to him "I don't want to touch it anymore, it's wrong."

Ron took the diadem, he didn't have the way to sense the abnormal in a way that Luna did and so maybe it was because he knew that the diadem contained Voldemort's soul that he felt darkness and conflict within its cool metal frame.

He and Luna had done it, they had got the Horcrux. He had not made a complete pillock of himself by getting captured. He would make Harry and Hermione proud and help get rid of that snake faced git yet.

Half an hour later after checking the coast was clear Ron marched into the Headmaster's office and slammed the diadem down on top of Snape's budgeting sheets in triumph.

Snape sneered "It's not really my style Weasley."

Dumbledore meanwhile looked on in amazement "Where did you find it?"

"In the Room of Requirement" Ron said proudly.

"Ah but of course" Dumbledore said knowingly "Tom must have believed he was the only person to ever discover how it worked."

"Excuse me but am I to believe you have been risking my neck and yours by wandering about this castle in search of _jewellery_?" Snape asked impatiently.

"Not just any jewellery, that is the lost diadem of Ravenclaw" Ron said with some satisfaction when Snape's eyes widened considerably. He picked up the diadem and examined it with amazement, he did not seem to feel the revulsion Luna had felt. He held it aloft and looking at it from all sides and was just about to bring it to his head when Ron and Dumbledore both shouted "NO!_"_

"I wasn't planning on keeping it" Snape said waspishly putting the diadem back on the desk "Although I fail to see how increasing Potter's intelligence will enable him to defeat the Dark Lord, it appears rather a weak plan to me."

"Well then it is fortunate that that is not the plan" Dumbledore said "This like the ring before it is an exceptionally dark object which must be destroyed. Severus pass Mr Weasley the Sorting Hat."

Snape frowned he appeared to be thinking quite deeply but nevertheless did as he was told. Ron was puzzled for a moment as he held the empty had and then he realised what he was supposed to do, putting his arm in he felt the hat sink with weight and he pulled from the brim a gleaming ruby encrusted sword.

"I need to use the sword?" Ron asked.

"Indeed for it is goblin wrought and imbibes all that it takes in" Dumbledore explained "When Harry Potter stabbed the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets it took in Basilisk Venom and as we are aware that has proved to be successful before in this particular task."

Snape looked from Dumbledore to Ron and there was a look of growing comprehension.

Ron placed the diadem on one of the spindly legged tables and raised the sword. Dumbledore and Snape watched on avidly and the diadem began to rattle and shake, as if Voldemort's soul knew danger was coming. Taking a deep breath and thinking firmly of Harry and Hermione, Ron swung the sword down on the diadem with a loud crash.

A woman's scream burst from within, but it was not a sad scream, it was one of happiness, of relief and freedom. Several of the portraits put their hands over their ears and Ron and Snape cowered under the force of such a wild noise.

And then there was silence once more and Ron looked back down at the table where the diadem lay shrivelled up in two separate parts.

"It is done" Dumbledore said with satisfaction.

"Horcruxes" someone said hoarsely and Ron turned to see Snape looking deathly white "He made Horcruxes."

Dumbledore nodded "That is correct my boy"

"But is it possible to make more than one, to split your soul more than once?" Snape asked with horror and revulsion.

"You Know Who certainly gave it a go" Ron said "We think he's got six and let's be honest Riddle's not exactly synonymous with morality"

"The diadem, the ring, the diary" Snape counted off and then he went deathly white and gripped the desk "No" he said hoarsely and turned to Dumbledore in desperation, begging him to contradict him "Tell me no."

Dumbledore nodded a grave looking expression on his face.

"What is it?" Ron asked tentatively.

Snape didn't say anything; instead he just looked miserably at the discarded budgeting parchments.

"A conversation for another night Mr Weasley" Dumbledore told him gently but firmly "You have done more than I could possibly have asked you tonight and now I believe it is time you got some sleep."

Ron wanted to disagree, argue that he spent most nights awake these days anyway and was almost nocturnal but Dumbledore's word was final and he opened the door to the Headmaster's quarters and took to the stairs.

"I won't do it" Ron heard Snape's defiant voice say once he had left and unable to help himself stayed to listen.

"You promised me Severus"

"Well I'm breaking that promise" Snape snapped "You can't make me!"

"You will do it Severus, you will not let Tom win and it is the only way." Dumbledore said firmly, there was a touch of sympathy in his voice but it was without doubt an order.

"This is not what I signed up for" Snape complained "This isn't why I spied for you."

"No but you cannot live for that alone, there are others in and out of this castle that you care for, that you spy for" Dumbledore said "You will do it for them."

Ron waited, desperate to hear more but the two men lapsed into a long silence and fearing getting caught eavesdropping he went up to bed.

**Please read and let me know what you think about this chapter and the story in general (both positive and negative criticism welcome)**


	19. Padfoot and Moony

"Where's the dog?" Malfoy asked emerging from the tent one cold November morning. As soon as Sirius had been able to Apparate they had left the Forest of Dean and started moving about the country, they felt it was best not to stay in one place for too long. Last night they had camped on the banks of Loch Morar and they were so far north that although Hermione had been up for two hours the sun was only just beginning to rise.

Hermione, who was sitting curled up under her cloak keeping watch, gave him a look of censure "He's gone to find Professor Lupin and you might want to be a little nicer to him" she said. "He's our only hope of finding the Order."

Malfoy sniffed, she could tell he was torn. On the one hand he and Sirius had not exactly taken to each other but on the other camping out in the wilderness did not suit Malfoy. He complained loudly about the lack of food, lumpy mattresses, wearing Ron's clothes and it took a steady stream of nagging from Hermione to get him to perform even the smallest of chores.

"He doesn't like me" Malfoy sniffed.

"Sirius doesn't trust easily" Hermione told him. "And it doesn't help that you refuse to lend him your wand when you're not using it."

"It's not my fault he lost his wand" Malfoy argued.

"We _all_ lost our wands" Hermione reminded him "As you'll recall I was the one that got the two we have and right now we really don't have any choice but to share."

Malfoy looked at her rather put out "What about you, why do you trust me?" he demanded.

This was not the first time he had asked this question, it seemed important to him "Harry told us what happened the night Dumbledore died" Hermione answered quietly.

Malfoy's face fell instantly and he stared very hard at a gently gliding snail crossing the hard frozen ground by his feet.

"He said you lowered your wand, that you were ready to accept Dumbledore's offer of safety."

"He told me that he would be able to protect me" Malfoy accused sullenly "He said he would be able to hide my parents."

Hermione stayed quiet.

"Can your Order still promise the same thing?"

"We can keep you safe" Hermione said and then asked carefully "Do your parents want to be hidden?"

"I don't know" Malfoy admitted still looking hard at the snail which had now left a long slimy glittering trail in its wake "My father was so proud, when I told him I wanted to take the mark. That was back when the Dark Lord first returned, he smiled and said I could once I'd left Hogwarts."

Hermione tried not to shudder in revulsion.

"It's not like I thought it would be" Malfoy quietly admitted.

"I don't think any of its like we thought it would be" Hermione ventured "I don't know, maybe it was naive of me but I thought the whole world could cave in and Ron and Harry would still be by my side."

Malfoy shrugged "They still might be if Black does his job properly"

Hermione shook her head "Not Harry" she said sadly admitting something she had known but not dared acknowledge for weeks "He won't hideaway under the Order's protection while the rest of us are in danger. He'll be fighting."

Malfoy looked at her with almost pity "Granger, nobody's heard from him in months"

"There's more than one way to fight."

Malfoy looked puzzled but did not contradict her. Long hours passed ahead of them as they waited for Sirius to get back. Hermione buried herself in _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ trying to figure out what Dumbledore would want her to do with a book of fairy stories whilst Malfoy sat next to her reading _Quidditch Through the Ages_. As she read she thought of the snitch left to Harry and the Deluminator that lay in her beaded bag. Every so often she would think about these strange objects Dumbledore had bestowed and try and divine some meaning but with little success.

It was beginning to get dark by the time Hermione started to worry. Sirius had not been gone this long before. She was just beginning to fear he had run into Wormtail or been caught when she heard the soft rustling of paws on dead twigs and a great shaggy black dog padded towards them accompanied by...Lupin.

Hermione felt a great surge of joy "Professor Lupin!" She cried jumping up to hug her former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Lupin beamed hugging her back "Hermione I can't tell you how good it is to see you."

"Told you I could sniff him out" Sirius boasted now transformed back from Padfoot.

"Yes, well I'm not sure running through the woods barking loudly really construes as subtle detective work" Lupin said with a wry smile.

"I was getting impatient" Sirius shrugged unapologetically. "Besides I knew Peter wasn't there or I would have smelled him."

"Nevertheless you nearly gave Dora and me heart attacks" Lupin grinned, in the company of his newly resurrected friend he looked about five years younger.

"Excuse me" Malfoy interrupted "But are we just supposed to take his word that he's really Lupin?"

Sirius made what sounded like a growl but Lupin merely smiled and said "Of course not Draco, what would you like to ask me?"

"Um..." Malfoy looked a bit taken aback by this request and was apparently searching around for something to ask "What was my mark in my Third year Dark Arts exam?"

"Ninety Three" Lupin said promptly"And very impressive it was too, I particularly like the way you dealt with the Hinkypunk, very imaginative."

"Well now that's sorted" Sirius said clapping his hands to together happily "Let's get out of here, Tonks is frying chips as we speak and I'm getting sick of berries and mushrooms."

They packed up the tent into Hermione's small beaded bag and then joining hands Disapparated from the loch's banks to arrive in the midst of a tightly packed forest where the trees were so close together Hermione could barely see three feet in front of her. They set off in single file following Lupin.

"I didn't know you got ninety three on your third year DADA exam" Hermione remarked to Malfoy.

"Yes well like I said we're not all morons" Malfoy said "Just because you hang around with Potter and Weasley don't tar the rest of us with the same brush."

Hermione bristled "Harry got full marks in that exam if you must know."

"Well that doesn't count" he argued and nodded ahead where Lupin and Sirius were laughing about something "He was Lupin's favourite."

"So - you were Snape's favourite" Hermione hissed and was satisfied to see the colour drain from his face.

"I was second in our year as you know very well" Malfoy snapped. "And it wasn't only Snape that had favourites, _you_ were McGonagall's."

Hermione stared at him in shock only partially aware that Sirius and Lupin had stopped talking to listen in on their hushed bickering. "McGonagall doesn't have favourites, everybody knows that" she bit. "_She_ was fair."

Malfoy gave a loud disbelieving snort "Oh yeah, do you reckon another house would have got a first year as their seeker, how many other Heads of Houses go around giving their students Nimbus 2000s," he argued. "Don't you remember…" and he put on a high Scottish brogue "Oh Miss Granger what a wonderful china tea set, please take six hundred points for Gryffindor. Three scrolls on non-verbal spells Miss Granger, oh you are simply splendiferous."

Sirius barked with laughter.

"Sirius!" Hermione cried feeling rather betrayed.

Sirius chuckled and turned back to look at them "Sorry but he's worse at flirting with you than Ron."

Hermione felt her cheeks go beetroot red and looked down at the undergrowth in feigned interest. Draco meanwhile spluttered his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Lupin gave a small titter of amusement.

"I wasn't flirting" he protested before adding "And I do nothing worse than Weasley."

"Whatever you say boy" Sirius smirked.

Lupin stopped suddenly "We're here" he announced.

He drew his wand across the trunk drawing a door in the bark. They descended down into the darkness of a tree trunk before they stopped in front of an old tattered door.

Lupin knocked. There was shuffling and murmuring inside before Tonks' cheerful voice rang out "What cereal do you like the most?"

"I don't like cereal I like porridge" Lupin said "What was the last thing you said before I left?"

Tonks chuckled "It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you lost Sirius and only brought back Malfoy and Hermione."

"Hey!" Sirius cried affronted.

The door burst open and Hermione barely had time to glimpse at the small sitting room beyond before she was engulfed by something pink and fast. "I knew you weren't dead" Tonks grinned happily.

"Hi, long lost cousin here who you actually thought was dead" Sirius called attention to himself.

"Oh get lost, I saw you a couple of hours ago" Tonks said and led them into the sitting room where a pair of middle aged people stood waiting for them. Hermione and Malfoy almost winced on noticing the appearance of the woman who wore a great resemblance to Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius however broke into a large grin.

"Dromeda!" he cried and rushed to pick up a very startled Andromeda Tonks and spin her around.

Hermione meanwhile noticed that there was a small but distinct bump on Tonks' front.

"Tonks, you're..."she spluttered.

"Yep, almost five months gone" Tonks said happily. "This is my Dad by the way and the woman Sirius is throwing around is me Mum."

Ted Tonks shook their hands and greeted them genially. Malfoy hung back looking wary and did not hold Mr Tonks's hand for very long.

Sirius meanwhile dropped Andromeda and was beaming at her.

"You idiot" Andomeda said crossly and she slapped him.

"Ow what was that for?" Sirius complained rubbing his cheek.

"What was that for? What was that for?" Andromeda repeated in disbelief, slapping him again "First you go and get yourself thrown in Azkaban leaving me all alone..."

"Hey! What do you mean alone?" protested Tonks and her father together.

"That wasn't my fault..." Sirius spluttered.

"Then miracle of miracles you somehow manage to escape but do you come to me or Dumbledore or any of your old friends for help, no..." Andromeda continued not pausing even to breathe advancing on Sirius with rather a menacing look in her eyes "You break into Hogwarts, scare several hundred children half to death and get caught _again_. Didn't it once crop up in your tiny mind to approach me?"

"You all thought..."

"Then you get my daughter mixed up in all this nonsense..."

"That was Mad Eye..."

"Then you getting yourself captured again all because you can't keep your temper around some stupid house elf!" Andromeda finished ranting and took several large breaths.

"I seem to remember you kicking him several times when we were kids" Sirius mumbled petulantly looking at the floor.

Andromeda took a deep breath and looked at him sadly "Sirius I haven't seen you in almost twenty years."

Sirius did not appear to have an answer for this and so he hugged her again, this time more gently and keeping their feet firmly on the floor.

Andromeda patted his mass of wild black hair before leaving his arms and approaching Malfoy who was now standing a little way off from the others rather awkwardly.

"You must be Draco" she greeted warmly. "It's very good to meet you at last."

"You're my aunt" Malfoy blurted apparently unable to think of anything else to say.

"Yes" Andromeda said and she spoke with rather a forlorn twinge. "Your eyes are just like your grandfather's."

"Yeah I know" Malfoy shrugged "Mother always says that."

"Well it's true" Andromeda smiled.

"You know what I just realised" Sirius announced suddenly "Assuming Draco's not a spy..."

"Sirius!" Lupin and Hermione both cried in chastisement.

"What? I said assuming that he's not" Sirius shrugged indifferently "That means that by my count now there are four good Blacks, soon to be five..." he nodded to Tonks' protruding belly "...to two bad Blacks. We are officially an Order of the Phoenix family."

"Oh yeah" Tonks grinned in excitement ignoring Lupin and Ted's protests that half of them were only part Black "We should make Weasley jumpers."

Everybody laughed except Malfoy who had gone a little green.

Andromeda, who thanks to her blood status was not yet in hiding, had brought them a hot steaming lasagne which they attacked with gusto. Hermione, Sirius and Malfoy who had been living on a diet of wild berries, mushrooms and badly cooked fish almost purred as the delicious meat, crispy onions and smooth pasta slid down their throats and settled happily in their stomachs.

As they ate Lupin and Tonks caught Sirius up on what had happened in the year that he had been held captive at Cathrack Tor. Hermione could tell they were leaving things out and more than once she saw Sirius and Lupin's eyes drift to Malfoy during one of these gaps.

Hermione felt strangely affronted by this, hadn't Malfoy proved himself, he had helped rescue her and Sirius after all. If he wanted to gain their trust in order to replace Snape as a spy wouldn't he just have forcibly rescued Hermione and left Sirius. But then she supposed that she knew Malfoy better than the others, she knew he didn't have the stomach to become a true Death Eater and Lupin and Sirius would remain ever scarred by Pettigrew's betrayal.

Harry and Ron were not mentioned and it was not until they sat around the fire later that Sirius was able to pull some answers out of Lupin and Tonks. Hermione curled up in an armchair as without the aid of lasagne to delay the inevitable Lupin and Tonks told them what had happened to Harry.

"What do mean he just left?" Sirius demanded. "Didn't you go after him?"

"He snuck out when we were asleep" Tonks protested "Remus has searched everywhere he might have gone but there have been no clues."

"No news is probably good news as far as Harry is concerned" Lupin murmured and he rested his head in his hands "I'm sorry Sirius; he was very upset when Hermione and Ron went missing and I could have handled it better. I was too concerned with trying to keep him safe I forgot that he was James' son and would go after his friends no matter what."

Sirius opened his mouth to ask more but Hermione got there first. "But Ron is back with the Order now, isn't he?" she checked quickly "Malfoy said you rescued him from the Ministry."

Lupin and Tonks frowned and looked at Malfoy questioningly "That wasn't us" Lupin said slowly.

Hermione spun round in her seat to Malfoy "You said they rescued Ron" she accused.

"I thought they had" Malfoy spluttered looking as surprised by the news as she did "That's what everybody said, that the Order had managed to sneak Weasel a portkey and that's how he vanished. I saw the Dark Lord punish Runcorn for it"

Everyone looked around in confusion. "Let me get this straight" Sirius said "The Death Eaters think the Order's got him and the Order thought the Death Eaters had him?"

Lupin nodded "We thought it was a trick at first, that they were planning to send a polyjuiced spy back to us in his stead then when he didn't appear…" he trailed off awkwardly avoiding Hermione's eye.

Sirius and Tonks too it appeared started to have a hard time looking at her. Hermione felt fear bubble up inside her "But he can't be dead!" She protested "Malfoy would know and anyway I thought they wanted him for questioning."

Lupin looked at her sadly "It could have been an accident, Yaxley or Runcorn could have covered it up" he suggested "From what Percy told us he was being tortured mercilessly."

Hermione felt her insides cave in and all the blood drain from her face. If she wasn't sitting down she would have fainted. _No_ a persistent little voice told her, _Ron isn't dead, you would know if he was, you would know_.

"Percy Weasley!" Sirius snorted "What's that traitorous prat got to do with it?"

"He's been of great help to the Order" Tonks told him seriously "With Arthur, Kingsley and me all in hiding Percy's the only spy we have in the Ministry. He got back in touch with Molly and Arthur once Ron was captured and was going to attempt another rescue just after Ron disappeared."

"Maybe he escaped on his own" Hermione suggested weakly.

Malfoy snorted "No offense Granger but I don't think Weasley could create a portkey even with a wand."

To her dismay Lupin agreed "Portkeys are particularly difficult magical objects to manufacture. The only wizard I have ever witnessed powerful enough to make one that could break the Ministry of Magic's wards was Dumbledore himself."

"Well then maybe You Know Who just wanted to keep his capture a secret in case there was a spy within the Death Eaters…like Sirius" she offered.

This time it was Sirius who shook his head "No, I was kept a secret because You Know Who wanted me as bait for Harry when he was finally ready to deal with him" he said "I was still a prisoner when Ron went missing so what would they need Ron for?"

Hermione gave a dry sob and Tonks put her arm round her. She barely heard when Lupin said "That's one other thing I don't understand, why is You Know Who waiting to deal with Harry, why didn't he use Sirius as bait to trap Harry when he had the chance?"

"It's his wand" Malfoy tried to explain, Hermione could see him looking at her out of the corner of his eyes as he spoke. Through her grief however his voice was a little muffled "Every time the Dark Lord has faced Potter he claims he's only lost because of the dual cores in their wands, even when he was using my father's wand. It's why he hasn't been around much enjoying this new hell he's created, there are mutterings he's been travelling throughout Europe trying to find an undefeatable wand."

This last statement was met with an anxious uneasy silence.

"Dumbledore did mention the dual cores in their wands would be an asset to Harry" Sirius murmured "We can only hope Harry still has his."

oOoOoOo

Dr Graves poked, pried and prodded Harry's operation scar until it was sore with firm rubber gloved fingers.

"Well that's all good Mr Dursley" he said briskly closing his doctor's bag and pulling his white gloves off with a snap. "There doesn't seem to be any sign of infection and I think we can lower the dose of the painkillers."

Harry grimaced as he put his t-shirt back on. He disliked being so dependent on all these muggle drugs. "Honestly I feel a lot better; I probably don't even need them at all."

Dr Graves stared down his long nose in a rather knowing fashion "No doubt because you aren't sleeping rough anymore and are getting three square meals a day."

Graves had obviously never slept on one of Aunt Marge's iron like mattresses or looked inside her kitchen cabinets. Harry showed the village doctor downstairs where they had to weave their way through several dogs who immediately thundered across the floor to Harry when they saw him.

_Yap! Yap!_

"Fill this prescription out with Mrs Shah at the chemists and I'll pop by next month for another check-up." The doctor ordered, he eyed the swarm of bulldogs speculatively and apparently deciding against navigating the mass to the kitchen where Aunt Marge was chopping carrots called out his goodbyes from the corridor and left.

_Yap! Yap!_

Once he was gone Boxer and Brandywine began to nudge at Harry's shins and Sargent tugged the bottom of his jeans with his old teeth.

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on" Harry sighed and pushed through the dogs to the kitchen.

There was a strong pungent smell of steaming vegetables mixed with cooking halibut which Harry eyed with mounting suspicion. One of the best things by far about staying with Marge was not only that she fed him but that she fed him such _junk_. Hogwarts never strayed from the five fruit or vegetables a day path whilst Harry rarely received much at the Dursleys and what he did get was often small portions of Petunia's sensible Marks &amp; Spencers, 'my husband is a business executive and my son attends public school thank you very much' type cooking. With Marge however there were mountains upon mountains of chips, greasy steak, battered chicken, fried eggs and more chocolate, cake and sweets than even Honeydukes would have known what to do with.

As Harry pried several tins of dog meat open he noticed a rather pathetic looking lemon flan next to the chopping board that did not look remotely appetising.

_Yap! Yap! Yap!_

The dogs got louder as they smelled the meat and Harry did not have long to tip the contents into the individual doggy bowls before they charged forwards gnashing and chomping frenetically. Harry's fingers barely escaped being bitten off in the madness.

"When they've eaten I want the dogs locked up in their room" Aunt Marge said tossing the final carrots in with the rest of the steaming vegetables "We are having company tonight."

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Colonel Fubster is popping round for dinner" Marge replied.

_Ah_, Harry had suspected as much. The Colonel was a large thick set man in his early sixties with a magnificent bushy moustache and small grey eyes. He apparently still did fifty sit ups each morning and Aunt Marge went out of her way to cater to his dull nutritional diet whenever he visited. It was also why the dogs were being hidden away and why Harry suspected he would be nudged to make a discrete exit at some point after pudding.

"What did Graves have to say?" Marge asked.

Harry shrugged "There's no infection, he filled out my prescription and said to get a check-up next month."

Marge slowly stirred the soggy cabbage which looked to have been boiling for a while. "Well that's something I suppose" she sniffed.

"I won't be here though" Harry said "I have to leave, I can fill out the prescription anywhere, and tomorrow I'll get going."

Aunt Marge drew back "Oh you will, will you?" she said in a shrill voice "And just where is it you are planning on going?"

"I..." truthfully Harry still had no idea where to go, he just knew he couldn't stay "Look I really appreciate all you've done for me but after everything I've told you, you must see it is too dangerous for me to stay."

"Bah, if Moldywart knew you were here he would have come already" Marge waved away. Harry had decided it was too risky to expect his very muggle aunt to understand the taboo so he had purposefully hidden the real name and told her this was a code name. She wagged the wet spoon at him "That's the problem with young people today, no attention span, no forethought, always wanting to be running about flitting between one thing and another. It's young people like you which is why this country has gone to the dogs."

"I thought that was because of wizards like me" Harry smirked.

Marge frowned at his light tone "And just how do you expect to get my brother and nephew back with no money, no transport and no plan."

"I have a plan, I just..." Harry sighed and ran a hand through his messy black hair "I need to do something; people are dying out there because of me. I can't just sit by and let that happen, if I have to hitchhike, walk or crawl I'll do it."

Aunt Marge started digging around in a high cupboard and brought out the fancy crockery. "Not only do you have an extraordinarily big head Potter but you are exceptionally stupid" she said shoving the plates at him. "First you are going to lay that table, then you are going to think of somewhere that is worth risking your neck for...then I will drive you."

oOoOoOo

"GET BACK HERE YOU BLOODY SCOUNDRELS!"

Ron hurtled down the sixth floor corridor, his heart racing and his hand clasped firmly around Luna's as he pulled her with him. Their feet pounded on the stone flagons like drums as they ran. Ron chanced a look back and saw the distant silhouette of Amycus Carrow chasing them in the dim night-time passage.

Ron scraped into his pocket and grabbed the remainder of his Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and threw it over his shoulder. Instantly everything went jet back and Ron could no longer see the tip of his own nose. He knew however that the corridor up ahead broke into three pathways and when the time came threw himself and Luna down the left one. He ran his hand along the wall, scraping the skin on the rough stone as he did so before he felt the familiar thread of tapestry which they dived under.

"Do…you…think…he saw us?" Luna panted trying to catch her breath.

There were spots in front of his eyes from running so hard and Ron rested his hands on her waist to help steady himself. "Nah." He wheezed grinning "It was too dark."

They looked at each other and dissolved into silent laughter. Ron noticed Luna's cheeks had gone a rosy red and realised she was quite pretty grinning there behind the tapestry with her dirty blonde hair wildly askew.

"Oh we shouldn't be laughing." Luna said trying to swallow her smile. "Everyone will be really cross with us."

"You mean they'll be really cross with you." Ron smirked "I don't go to Hogwarts anymore remember?"

"Oh you are mean Ronald Weasley" Luna replied grinning as she tried to hit him, Ron chuckled and wrestled her arms to stop her attack, half hugging her in the process.

It was not until later when he bounded into the Headmaster's private sitting room and Snape exclaimed "Weasley you look like a patient on the Janus Thickey Ward at St Mungo's" that Ron realised he was still grinning.

"And what in Merlin's name is that smell?"

Ron sniffed his jumper sleeve and recoiled at the stench, he had forgotten about that "You really don't want to know."

Snape gave him a withering glare over his copy of _The Evening Prophet_ and Ron shrugged. "We may have redirected one of the sewage pipes to the Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom." He admitted.

Snape folded his newspaper and gave a tired sigh "And I don't suppose it occurred to you that the Transfiguration classroom is right next door?" He asked "That some of your fellow miscreants might need to complete their education in that subject before they turn to a full time career of vandalising school property?"

"It was Neville's idea." Ron spluttered in rather a weak defence. He was about to say something more when the sound of banging came from the Headmaster's office on the floor below them.

"Snape! SNAPE!" The angry muffled voices of the Carrows shouted for them.

Snape stood up with great irritation and reluctance. "Thank you so much for this Weasley, I suggest you take a bath whilst I cover your tracks _again_."

Ron tried not to feel guilty. It was just that there had been so little that he could do that was useful after he had destroyed the diadem. And waging war on the Carrows with Neville and Luna was just too enticing to resist.

"A moment please Mr Weasley." Dumbledore's portrait requested after Snape had left and Ron was about to climb up the spiral staircase for a much needed shower.

"Yes sir."

Dumbledore gave him a sympathetic, almost paternal smile but his eyes looked a little sterner. "I wondered if you had thought about rejoining the Order now that you have successfully destroyed Ravenclaw's diadem?"

Ron hesitated and hedged "Well…I had thought…"

"I have heard from eavesdropping in on Professor McGonagall's office that Miss Granger has returned to the Order and thought the two of you may want to look for Harry together."

"Has there been any word of Harry?" Ron asked.

"Not as of yet but…"

Ron thought of Hermione running away with Malfoy and then he thought of Luna. "I thought I might just stay here for a bit sir. I mean…if Harry hasn't been found I can do more to help here, with Dumbledore's Army."

"I see" Dumbledore said with pursed lips.

Ron nodded to him and left wondering why he felt so guilty for a decision he had assured himself was purely logical.

**Thank you for all your lovely reviews so far. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story so far - as always any criticism is welcome.**

**N.B. Just to let you know I originally had some lines in this chapter where Sirius got upset that Kingsley acted as best man at Remus and Tonks's wedding - despite the fact they thought he was dead. Although I was fond of the draft dialogue I couldn't quite make it work with the dinner and fireplace scene where Hermione and Sirius should be quietly desperate to find out why Harry and Ron haven't met them at the Den.**


	20. The Dark Lord's Servant

It had been announced in a tiny corner on page 12 of that morning's _Daily Prophet_ – Crabbe and his son were dead. The official reason given was dragon pox; the true reason was obvious to all. Hermione didn't know how to feel about this news other than incredibly uncomfortable that everybody watched her very closely to gage her reaction when Mrs Tonks brought the newspaper along with food. She wondered whether she should have felt relieved or cheated by the fact that Voldemort got there before she or the Order could. Maybe she should feel happy or uneasy that a seventeen year old classmate had been murdered. For all his threats Vincent Crabbe had never actually got round to touching her, he had also kept her identity hidden – but that was less to do with goodness and more because of his own sick desires.

These conflicting thoughts warred inside Hermione's head and she felt suffocated inside the cramped, overcrowded atmosphere of the Den. The little hole in the ground consisted only of two bedrooms and a tiny living room so as Remus and Tonks and Hermione took the bedrooms respectively this left Malfoy, Sirius and Mr Tonks to camp in the living room with a nightly struggle for the sofa. As soon as breakfast was over she hastened outside to be alone.

"Well the Lupins have finally cracked" Malfoy announced crushing dead leaves underfoot as he arrived a couple of hours later at the little stream where Hermione had escaped to fish. "The mass murderer's off to the Shacklebolts and you and I have been punished for crimes in another life by being sent to the Weasleys."

"That sounds nice" Hermione replied.

Malfoy groaned as he flopped onto the bank beside her and fell onto his back staring up at the tree canopy "A never ending sentence with the twins and Weaslette...why couldn't Bellatrix have finished me off?"

Hermione smirked. Malfoy closed his eyes as he rested and she suspected he too had come outside to escape the claustrophic atmosphere of the Den. When Mr Tonks had first arrived Tonks had put up protective spells in this little secluded spot by the stream in order to limit any potential damage that having her husband and father cooped up together underground with no respite would cause.

Hermione looked at Malfoy lying in the early winter sun as the shadows of the leaves and branches above cross crossed his face. She didn't think she had ever seen him so at peace before, his eyes were relaxed, his jaw unclenched and there was a strange smile on his face. Hermione did not know what to make of a Malfoy smiling for less than evil reasons, it was almost pleasant.

His lips twitched upwards in a smirk "You can always get on if you want a closer look"

"Ugh" Hermione said and shoved him causing him to laugh.

The stream gurgled as it rushed over smooth stone and the fishing line remained predictably lax.

"I'm sorry about Crabbe" she said quietly.

"Why?" Malfoy asked in astonishment "He wanted to...well you know what he wanted to do to you."

Hermione shrugged "He was your friend, or at least as close a friend as you can get."

"I have friends" Malfoy defended.

"Who?" Hermione challenged briefly wondering whether he would dare to say her.

"Blaise, Theo Nott, Pansy..."

"Pansy!" Hermione shrieked "She's a simpering cow."

Malfoy shot her a surprising glare "She's a laugh, she happens to be the funniest person I know."

Hermione's eyebrows rose "Wow, the long winter nights must just fly by in the Slytherin Common Room."

"As opposed to the Gryffindor Common Room where you wrestle bears and hit each other on the head to see whose skull is thickest."

"You are impossible. Fred and George are going to eat you alive."

Malfoy snorted "I may dread breathing the same air as Weasley cretins that doesn't mean I can't handle them."

"Don't call my friends that." Hermione snapped, distantly thinking of Ron.

Malfoy looked taken aback and then he gave a theatrical sigh "Fine, if you're going to get all touchy about it."

Hermione felt irritated with him not just for the insult but that he had destroyed the nice moment where they had been relaxing in the winter sun.

"What if you didn't have to go to Aunt Muriel's?" she asked quietly.

"What and stay here with the poor relations?" Malfoy asked and then shrugged "Better company I suppose, though I was rather looking forward to a bed again."

"No I didn't mean that" Hermione said, she could feel his gaze on her, it was now or never "How would you feel about helping me with…something?"

"The great Granger asking for help" Malfoy said in surprise but he sat up and his face was a little more curious "Tell me more."

"I didn't stay at Cathrack Tor for Sirius, at least not at first." Hermione confided delicately "I was trying to find more information about something the Lestranges have that I need to get for Harry.".

"The veil?" Malfoy guessed.

"No not that, it's not at their house" she shook her head and took a deep breath "It's in their vault at Gringotts."

Malfoy's eyes widened for a second and then he let out a long hollow laugh "Well I guess you can kiss it goodbye then."

"Malfoy this is something we _have_ to get, we can't defeat You Know Who without it."

"You're not honestly suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Malfoy asked in consternation "It can't be done."

"Yes it can" Hermione insisted "Quirrell and You Know Who did it in our first year; they broke in and almost stole the Philosopher's Stone. The only reason they didn't get it was that the vault had already been emptied. _They_ weren't caught."

"But that wasn't a top security vault. Do you have any idea what kind of measures they have in the ancestral vaults, there are identity charms, hexes..._dragons_" Malfoy stressed. "It. Can't. Be. Done."

"Yes it can!" Hermione insisted "It must or You Know Who will never be defeated."

Malfoy looked at her in amazement as though he had never seen her before "Look even if we could pull it off, we would never be able to do it in secret, the goblins would work out we'd broken in" he sighed. "I mean I presume you don't want the Dark Lord to know you've stolen this weapon...or whatever it is."

"Malfoy…" Hermione pressed.

Malfoy gave a heavy sigh and ran his hand threw his white blond hair "Can't you bring along your convicted criminal for this?"

"I need someone who has been to the high security vaults before."

"And Black hasn't?"

"Sirius won't have had access to his family vault for twenty years, I can't take the risk they haven't introduced new security measures." Hermione said "Besides sometimes Sirius can be a little…reckless"

Malfoy groaned

"Malfoy I need someone discreet, the most important thing about this whole venture is that You Know Who must have no idea we know about this object" Hermione told him "Sirius will charge in with his wand blazing, I need someone who understands secrecy, subterfuge, somebody clever enough to hoodwink the goblins."

Malfoy eyed her sceptically

"Come on" she wheedled hoping she wasn't laying it on too thick "You found a way into Hogwarts; nobody thought that could be done."

"Granger _this_ can't be done" Malfoy told her

"Well we have to try" Hermione protested "Malfoy try to think about your life since You Know Who came to power, really think. We have to stop him. This is the only way your parents will ever be safe again, it's the only way you'll see those friends of yours again."

Malfoy focused on her as though he was deciding something, Hermione felt rather off kilter at having those grey eyes so looking so intensely at her.  
"Fine." He eventually bit out and Hermione beamed. "We'll certainly get killed but with any luck we might at least get our names in a history book or two."

.

Predictably Sirius and the Lupins were not happy at their decision to go off on their own, especially when Hermione and Malfoy refused to reveal what exactly their plans were. Both Professor Lupin and Sirius took her aside at different points the next day to advise her to be cautious around Malfoy and reasoned the case that the Order could help them with their plans if they stayed. Sirius even offered to go with her and Malfoy promising not to ask what it was they were doing. It was a tempting offer, after all who would know better about breaking into and out of heavily guarded magical buildings than Sirius but Hermione had reluctantly declined. It was going to be hard enough keeping the Horcrux's true nature from Malfoy let alone both of them – and she meant what she had said, sometimes Sirius was a bit too reckless.

The hardest conversation she had however was with Tonks who, serious faced, pulled Hermione into the Lupins's bedroom the evening before she and Malfoy were due to leave.

"We haven't had much of a chance to chat have we?" Tonks said, her cheery words at odds with her sombre tone "I guess I've been putting it off, hoping to leave it to Mrs Weasley…I'm sorry Hermione I shouldn't have done that."

"Done what?" Hermione asked "Tonks, I don't understand."

Tonks looked at her with no small amount of concern "Hermione…I've heard reports of things Bardus Crabbe has done in the past."

"Oh" Hermione said in understanding and she looked down at the floor. All thoughts of Gringotts and how to nag Malfoy into doing his share of the cooking were cruelly snatched from her. She knew Tonks meant well but this was something she didn't really want to talk about. She had thought she had made that clear.

"War…it can be a very different animal for women" Tonks said "I should have prepared you."

"Tonks…it wasn't your fault" Hermione sighed.

"I was best placed, I had planned on talking to you and Ginny about it" she said "I just kept putting it off; I guess I didn't want to confront the idea as a possibility and…"

"It's fine Tonks" Hermione interupted keeping her eyes fixed on the chest of drawers in front of her.

"No it's not" Tonks said firmly "Hermione what happened to you was a terrible, terrible thing and I think talking about it might…"

"I don't…I just…I can't."

"That's fine, but if you ever change your mind I will always be here for you" Tonks said before taking a deep breath "There is something I do need to check however, did you carry out a pregnancy charm?"

Hermione felt the whole world fall around her as she turned to look to Tonks with wide eyes "I…I didn't think…What …" she spluttered in panic.

"It's alright, it's alright" Tonks said soothingly, "It's a very simple spell" she held her wand over Hermione's stomach and chanted "_Infantum Revelio._"

Nothing happened.

Tonks smiled, "There you go - nothing to worry about, and now you know."

Hermione gave her a watery smile "Thanks" she said.

oOoOoOo

"This is ridiculous" Aunt Marge hissed from behind the wheel, her pale fingernails clutching at the steering wheel as she delicately manoeuvred the large Land Rover through the small cobbled lanes of Godric's Hollow "I look like I'm mad."

"So stop talking" Harry hissed back. He sat in the back seat of the Land Rover with his Invisibility Cloak hiding his body; Ripper was sitting pride of place in the front passenger seat naturally.

"Of all the...People will think I'm touched in the head." Marge muttered as she slowed to a stop outside the church.

Godric's Hollow was a pretty little village in the winter sun. It had cobbles, thatched roofs and Christmas wreaths hung on most of the doors. Harry wondered what it would have been like to grow up in a place like this. They had driven through miles and miles of picturesque rolling countryside, pretty meadows and trimmed woods. Harry could not help but wonder if his father and his friends had used to play quidditch in those woods, hidden from the muggles. Perhaps James would have first taught Harry how to catch a snitch in one of those large meadows behind the thick gorse hedges.

Harry even recognised the country church they had stopped outside of from his parents' wedding photos.

"Right, you do...whatever it is that you do." Marge muttered clipping a leash on Ripper who looked rather startled at the unusual restraint. "I'll be in the pub."

Then to Harry's surprise she walked straight past a pub not three feet from them and headed to the other side of the square. Harry looked closer at the pub and saw it was called _The Laughing Centaur_, its dark wooden sign showed a bored looking golden centaur picking at its fingernails. Underneath the picture was a smaller sign that said:

_No wizards or witches under 17. Age line in place._

The door banged open as a man in a large purple top hat and wizard's robes came out and then Disapperated in mid-air. The muggle reading a newspaper at the bus stop did not bat an eyelid, nor did the one washing the windows of the tea shop. Indeed the two muggle mothers and the toddlers in their pushchairs did not pay the slightest bit of attention when they walked past a large statue of a witch, wizard and baby in the centre of the village square.

Harry wondered vaguely just how many befuddlement, confundus and disillusionment spells there were at work in Godric's Hollow before he realised that the statue was of his parents. And the baby was of him.

It was a memorial of some sort; it felt rather odd looking at a stone effigy of himself as a baby but people had written some nice things round the sign. He had never imagined that there would be a statue... How strange it was to see himself represented in stone, a happy baby without a scar on his forehead...

Still under the invisibility cloak Harry made his way back to the church once he had had his fill. Harry assumed it must have been Sunday for some boys were outside playing football near the gate in their choir robes and so Harry hopped over the wall rather than risk bumping into any of them whilst invisible.

The graveyard like the village was a mix of magical and muggle, he saw long forgotten graves of Abbots, Potters and Bagshots. In addition there were names that Harry had never heard of before such as Perevell and Mortimer but by judging the griffins, wands and banshees on their gravestones he felt sure they had been old magical families. Harry stopped when he walked past the graves of Ariana and Kendra Dumbledore, Dumbledore's mother and sister. So Muriel and Rita were right in that at least, the Dumbledores had lived in Godric's Hollow. Harry felt disappointed once again that Dumbledore had never shared this with him but then Dumbledore had shared very little with Harry…his present pitiable state was evidence of that.

Marge had bought him flowers from the grocery shop in her village, something Harry was very grateful for as he himself had no money or working wand. It was awkward trying to relieve them from the plastic wrapping underneath the cloak but Harry managed it. Somebody had recently left red lilies by his mother's name and Harry wondered if Lupin had dared visit recently.

The tomb was white marble, like Dumbledore's and there was a quotation that read _"The last enemy that shall be defeated is death."_

The empty words could not comfort the fact that his parents' moldering remains lay beneath snow and stone, indifferent, unknowing. And tears came before he could stop them, boiling hot then instantly freezing on his face, and what was the point in wiping them off or pretending? He let them fall, his lips pressed hard together, looking down at the thick snow hiding from his eyes the place where the last of Lily and James lay, bones now, surely, or dust, not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the earth with them.

After what felt like a long time Harry could not take looking at the tomb any longer and he left the graveyard, for second he paused wondering if he had heard a rustle in bushes but then deciding it was probably just a cat, walked on. He walked around the cobbled lanes curious to where his parent's house was. He thought of Bathilda Bagshot, the old family friend of Dumbledore's who supposedly still lived in Godric's Hollow according to Great Aunt Muriel. Could he dare approach her as Harry Potter, might Dumbledore have left a clue with her…maybe she could help get him a wand.

Suddenly he stopped, there it was at the end of a row of houses, Harry knew it instantly. The Fidelius Charm must have died with James and Lily. The hedge had grown wild in the sixteen years since Hagrid had taken Harry from the rubble that lay scattered amongst the waist-high grass. Most of the cottage was still standing, though entirely covered in the dark ivy and weeds that had grown between the bricks, but the right side of the top floor had been blown apart; that, Harry was sure, was where the curse had backfired. He stood at the gate, gazing up at the wreck of what must once have been a cottage just like those that flanked it. Unable to take just looking Harry stepped inside.

The cottage itself had been stripped off all personal possessions, inside all that was left were large empty rooms with faded wallpaper and dusty floorboards. Harry knew Hagrid had taken the photos from the walls to give to him in his first year but he wondered what had happened to the furniture. Had somebody stolen it or sold it and put the money in his account – more likely Aunt Petunia had hated it on sight and thrown it out. There was a large open fireplace in the living room with a wide brick mantelpiece and curved black iron grate. Harry imagined winter nights huddled around it drinking hot chocolate with his parents, disappearing through it to visit the Burrow or watching Sirius spinning into view in brilliant emerald flames.

He drifted into the kitchen. There were large gaping holes where Harry imagined the fridge and oven might once have been but a few of the cupboards and drawers remained which were nailed to the wall. They were mostly empty with a few scattered dusty cups and plates that had been left behind with the exception of one bottom drawer that was jammed shut. Harry pulled and twisted the knob, his hands getting raw and sweaty from the effort and eventually he had to crowbar it open with an old iron poker from the fireplace. At first he was disappointed to find only old cookbooks but when he looked closer Harry found a large stack of letters hidden underneath them, held together with a worn pink hairband.

Harry flicked through them; they were all stuffed in opened envelopes and addressed to _Lily Evans_ in small spikey handwriting that was strangely familiar to him.

_Snape._ This was _Snape's _handwriting. What had Snape been doing writing to his mother, no wonder she had stuffed them in a drawer to be forgotten about. Outside the kitchen window a twig snapped and Harry jumped. He stuffed the letters in his back pocket and crept outside into the overgrown back garden still under his invisibility cloak.

A tiny heavily hunched old woman stood there muffled in thick coats and scarves. There was next to no chance that this woman was a Muggle: She was standing there gazing at a house that ought to have been completely invisible to her, if she was not a witch. Even assuming that she was a witch, however, it was odd behavior to break into a back garden in the middle of the day, simply to look at an old ruin. By all the rules of normal magic, meanwhile, she ought not to be able to see him at all. Nevertheless, Harry had the strangest feeling that she knew that he was there, and also who he was. Just as he had reached this uneasy conclusion, she raised a gloved hand and beckoned.

Harry could think of many reasons not to obey the summons, and yet his suspicions about her identity were growing stronger every moment that they stood facing each other in the wild undergrowth. Was it possible that she had been waiting for him all these long months? That Dumbledore had told her to wait, and that Harry would come in the end? Was it not likely that it was she who had moved in the shadows in the graveyard and had followed him to this spot? Even her ability to sense him suggested some Dumbledore-ish power that he had never encountered before.

Finally Harry spoke "Are you Bathilda?"

The muffled figure nodded and beckoned again.

Feeling apprehensive he stepped toward the woman and, at once, she turned and hobbled off back down the garden path to a gate that opened out onto a dirt path that ran past the back of the row of houses. Leading them past several houses, she turned in at another gate. Harry followed her through a garden nearly as overgrown as the one they had just left. She fumbled for a moment with a key at the back door, then opened it and stepped back to let him pass.

She smelled bad, or perhaps it was her house; Harry wrinkled his nose as he sidled past her and pulled off the Cloak. Now that he was beside her, he realized how tiny she was; bowed down with age, she was barely level with his chest. She closed the door behind them, her knuckles blue and mottled against the peeling paint, then turned and peered into Harry's face. Her eyes were thick with cataracts and sunken into folds of transparent skin, and her whole face was dotted with broken veins and liver spots. He wondered whether she could make him out at all.

The odour of old age, of dust, of unwashed clothes and stale food intensified as the unwound a moth-eaten black shawl, revealing a head of scant white hair through which the scalp showed clearly.

"Bathilda?" Harry repeated.

She nodded again. Harry became aware of the locket now lived in his pocket for daren't wear it anymore; the thing inside it that sometimes ticked or beat had woken; he could feel it pulsing through the cold gold and his jeans. Did it know, could it sense, that the thing that would destroy it was near? Or was it awakening to something else…

Harry's foreboding increased as he heard the sound of the door creaking in the breeze, he was just about to turn and shut it properly when a weak snivelling voice cried "_Petrificus Totalus_"

Harry had no wand and no time to duck. His arms and legs snapped shut and toppled forward, his nose crashing on the musty worn frayed carpet with a sickening crack. A man's small scuffed boot kicked him over so he faced the yellowed ceiling as blood started to trickle down from his nose to his upper lip.

This was it, he was going to die. Harry wondered whether he had always known he would die in Godric's Hollow. Maybe he really did want to join his parents underneath that soft earth – why else had he returned wandless to the one place he had known Voldemort was certain to place a guard.

Overhead the grotesque faces of Bathilda Bagshot and Peter Pettigrew hovered.

There was something about seeing the traitor of Sirius and his parents that caused a white hot rage to spring up in Harry, he desperately wished to jump up and fight, to yell and scream but the spell had wired even his jaw muscles shut.

Pettigrew's skin was sickly translucent and despite having put on weight since Harry had last seen him, he looked insubstantial as though a gust of wind would blow him away. His hair was greasy, thin and stringy, his fingernails dirty and his small eyes darted back and forth in a very nervous fashion.

_I hate him_ Harry thought, trying to portray all his anger in to his stare, he stretched and strained against the enchantment, his head banging with pain from the impossible task.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bathilda Bagshot was rippling, almost melting as flaked old grey skin fell away to revel shiny dark green scales, Harry didn't care, his fury and attention was focused on Wormtail.

_I hate him. I hate him! I HATE HIM! _"I HATE HIM!"

Harry did not realise that he had broken the paralytic spell had broken until he saw Wormtail's shocked face. Before he could react Harry's scar prickled painfully; the Horcrux twitched so that the pockets of his jeans actually moved; the dark, fetid room dissolved momentarily. He felt a leap of joy and spoke in a high, cold voice: _Hold him!_

Harry felt weak and dizzy headed, the dark, foul-smelling room seemed to close around him again. Wormtail was backing towards the door, sweating profusely with fear. Horror struck them both as Bathilda's body collapsed completely and a great snake poured from where her neck had been.

He tried to lift himself of the floor but Nagini was too quick, powerful coils wrapped around him, squeezing his midriff so he could hardly breathe as her heavy tail weighed down his kicking legs.

"No!" he gasped, pinned to the floor.

"Yes," whispered the voice. "Yesss... hold you... hold you..."

"Wormtail…Wormtail…help" Harry gasped, he didn't want to die, he wanted to live and see Ron and Hermione again…he wanted to hold Ginny one last time.

Wormtail cowered against the door, looking at the door, shaking his head and muttering distractedly.

"Pettigrew!" Harry shouted as the snake's coils tightened around his torso; pressing the Horcrux hard into his chest, a circle of ice that throbbed with life, inches from his own frantic heart, and his brain was flooding with cold, white light. He gasped "I saved…your…life…You…owe me."

Wormtail shook his head more vigourously and muttered louder strange unintelligible sentences, Harry wondered if he had gone mad. Then one lone arm was raised and his fleshy hand holding a long elegant wand shot a dash of red light at Harry and snake.

The stinging hex was weak but it must have burned enough for Nagini to flinch backwards and allow Harry to escape his coils. Harry jumped up and snatched the outstretched wand from Wormtail's hand. Nagini shook off the stinging hex and lunged long ivory fangs glistening.

_A metal heart was banging outside his chest, and now he was flying, flying with triumph in his heart, without need of broomstick or thestral..._

"CONFRINGO!" Harry shouted pointing Wormtail's wand at the ceiling above Nagini's head.

BANG! Plaster, bricks, dust, debris and the upstairs bedroom set collapsed behind them as Harry pushed Wormtail through the back door and into the bright unforgiving sunlight of a winter's midday.

Harry collapsed on his hands and knees into the cold grass, panting and adjusting to the bright light. Blinking he looked back at Bathilda's house. The blasting charm had been very strong and part of the roof had collapsed along with the first floor, there was no possibility the snake could have survived.

The Horcrux in Harry's jeans burned fiercely projecting anger and darkness but another part of him let out a breathless laugh of relief. Only three Horcruxes to go and now he had a wand.

Next to him Wormtail, wheezed and panted. Harry turned to look at him and saw to his horror that the Death Eater's face had turned a pale blue as the silver hand Voldemort had gifted him less than three years ago closed around his own throat choking him. His tongue hung out of his mouth in a grotesque fashion and his other arm and legs flailed and kicked the long grass in a desperate fashion.

Harry ran to his side and tried desperately to pull the silver hand's grasp from Wormtail's throat but the arm was too strong. Almost before it had started, Wormtail's limbs fell to the earth with a soft thud and the life left his eyes.

Harry stared at the body, feeling emptier than he had expected to on the death of the traitor of his parents. He briefly wondered what to do with the body, but as he did so, his scar seared more painfully, more powerfully than it had done in years.

_He was coming! Voldemort was coming!_

And without thinking Harry twisted in mid-air and Apparated on top of the pool table in the muggle pub of Godric's Hollow to the shock of the villagers and the horror of Aunt Marge who was in the process of drinking a very large Gin and telling some men at the bar about the time she had gone on holiday to Spain and shot a wild boar.

Harry grabbed Marge and Ripper and Disapperated back to her cottage causing several patrons to drop their glasses in disbelief. They arrived in the hall and were greeted by many excitable bull dogs but before Marge could censure Harry for his blatant use of magic in public Voldemort's screams of fury and rage pierced his skull and he collapsed into unconsciousness.

oOoOoOo

Ron bounced down the spiral staircase to the fourth floor. After months of sneaking around the Hogwarts during the dead of night, Ron knew the hidden passages and dark corners like the inside of his own head. He moved with the castle, the stone walls set into his skin and he felt the air brush against the hairs on the back of his hair when someone disturbed the silent corridors.

Grinning Ron shrunk back into the shadows of the fourth floor corridor waiting for the tell-tale of tap, tap of pink and white trainers on cold stone flags and the quiet flick of untied laces lolloping in the air. He pressed back into the wall so he was almost invisible; after all these nights mischief making with Neville and Luna, he didn't even need the cloak anymore to avoid prowling teachers and had taken to folding up the Marauders Map and stuffing it in the back pocket of his jeans.

Soon enough Luna appeared around the corner and Ron's chest thudded a little faster. She was still in her school uniform, they must have been robes freshly returned from the castle's house elves for they were cleaner than normal and the frayed edges had been repaired. Her flyaway dirty blonde hair was tied up in an unusually neat bun.

"Hey" Ron lurched from the shadows to rest his hands on her back shoulders in the hopes of surprising her.

Luna did not stir however, she merely turned and when she looked at him, she looked almost disappointed "Oh, Ronald Weasley."

Ron frowned, wondering what he had done to upset her. He wished Hermione was here, she would know. His stomach twisted at the thought of Hermione who had left the Lupins with _Malfoy_ and was now likely out in the wilderness alone in a tent with him.

"Shall we go to the dungeons?" Ron asked and went to take her hand but she flinched and her nose flared. Ron was briefly reminded of Narcissa Malfoy. "Are you ok?"

"I am well Weas...Ronald" she sniffed stepping away from him slightly "But I think we are wasting our time letting troublemakers go from the dungeons, we should be helping Potter. Let's go to Pot…Harry tonight."

Ron frowned "Luna, I already told you I don't know where he is."

"The Order of the Phoenix will know where he is" Luna said briskly grabbing his elbow so hard it almost hurt and marching them forwards with a focus and determination he had never seen in her before "Let's go to them tonight. Take me there."

"Oh..kay..." Ron said slowly and with great effort pried himself from her grasp "We'll go to headquarters tonight."

Luna looked at him suspiciously "What are you doing?" she demanded as he reached into his back pocket.

"Just checking the instructions on how to get to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix" Ron replied as casually as he could, ever so slightly edging away from her. His heart was pounding in his ribcage for another reason altogether as he tapped the blank parchment with his wand and whispered "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Inky black lines spread across the parchment in hundreds of directions like an ever expanding web revealing the chambers and crevices of Hogwarts Castle. Ron saw himself as a labelled dot standing in the fourth floor corridor and there not three feet from him was another dot labelled not 'Luna Lovegood' but 'Alecto Carrow'.

Her discovery must have shown on his face for the polyjuiced Carrow whipped out her wand to curse Ron but he was too fast.

"STUPEFY!" He yelled, his ears burning with rage. The force of the spell blasted her backwards so she hit the wall with a crack and slumped to the floor inelegantly.

Then he ran.

.

"YOU FOOL!" Snape roared in the safety of the Headmaster's private sitting room "I told you this would happen! Do you have any idea what you have might have done?!"

Ron didn't need to be told. It had been churning up inside his head for hours making him sick. Had Alecto Carrow been but a little cleverer or a little luckier he could have revealed the secrets of Dumbledore's Army, the Order of Phoenix and/or Snape's role as a spy. But there was one all-consuming horrifying question that could not help but dominate.

"Where is she?" Ron asked his voice hoarse and eyes red from staying up all night whilst Snape recovered Carrow and made discrete enquiries.

Snape gave a long sigh "One of these days you'll have to track down your girlfriends yourself Weasley…She is in Azkaban."

Ron felt his throat close up "A…Azkaban?" He stuttered in horror.

"Unfortunately you cannot claim all the credit" Snape drawled "Xenophilius Lovegood has been printing articles criticising the Ministry in that rag of his for months. It was only a matter of time before they acted."

Ron looked at him coldly "You knew" He accused.

"I suspected. I would never let a child be taken from this school. The Carrows knew that. That is why they did not tell me until after the fact when it was too dangerous and too pointless to object."

Ron bit the inside of his cheek. He paced the carpet in front of the fire, the blood was thrumming through his veins and he wanted to punch something. More than that he wanted to do something.

"What do we do now?" He demanded.

"You will return to the Order of the Phoenix tonight as you should have done weeks ago." Snape ordered sternly "They will be searching the castle for you, if…"

"No I meant what do we do about Luna?" Ron demanded.

"There is nothing to be done." Snape said casually

"What do you mean, there is nothing to be done, we can't just leave her there!"

Snape looked at him like it was a Potions lesson and he had just made something blow up "She is in the most magically secure prison on earth. The only way to free her is to defeat the Dark Lord."

"You rescued me from the prisons at the Ministry" Ron reminded him.

"That was different." Snape snapped "There were three dementors at the Ministry, in Azkaban there are thousands. Not to mention I had several legitimate reasons for visiting the Ministry, how do you intend to sneak into a heavily guarded island prison unnoticed?"

"I'll think of something." Ron said feeling more brave and determined than he really should about what he was proposing.

"Then you _are_ a fool" Snape sneered "They will catch you, they will drown you in veritserum, you will expose Potter and myself and lose this war. Then they will kill you."

"Are you going to stop me?" Ron challenged.

Snape looked him up and down "Weasley, when have I ever given any indication that I care about your pathetic little life?"

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story in general so far (both positive and negative criticism welcome)**


	21. Getting Caught

_"__NO!" his scream was high and cold. It echoed through Godric's Hollow._

_He stood at the broken window of Bathilda's house, immersed in memories of his greatest loss, and at his feet lay the carcass of the great snake, of his most loyal servant broken by bricks and glass and dusted with fallen debris._

_"__AGH!" He cried once more and magic pulsed through his veins greater and darker from ever. It split from his skin and exploded around him. Somewhere far off he distantly heard the sound of terrified screams and smelt burning._

_He looked down and saw something...something incredible..._

_He stooped down and picked up the smashed photograph. There he was, the unknown thief he was seeking..._

Hundreds of miles away Harry's scar split open with pain and he awoke panting. The dreams were coming almost every night now, each night they came with more images of green light and dead bodies. Ever since Nagini had been killed, Harry knew that Voldemort had become even more dangerous than ever. It was why he had no choice but to force Aunt Marge to leave.

The smell of salt air wafted through the boards that enclosed Harry's bunk and he tugged the warm woollen blanket over his knees. The wooden boards to his right were cold to touch as the icy sea lapped at the bottom and the driving snow tapped softly at the top part. _The Floating Cavalier_ was Colonel Fubster's pride and joy. A forty foot old fashioned sail boat, it was immaculately kept and when the sun dared rear its weak head on a December day the polished white oak gleamed. But no sail boat no matter how well maintained it seemed could avoid the cold when docking in the wintery North Sea in a small seaside town off the east coast of England.

There was a loud snore that echoed from the bedroom at the end of the boat and the boat rocked. Colonel Fubster had insisted Aunt Marge take the bed whilst Harry took the overheard bunk above the kitchen cabinets and the Colonel himself slept on the on the bed that folded out from the kitchen table.

Harry did not quite know what to make of Colonel Fubster; he was a large brutish type of man who often reminded him of Uncle Vernon. Like Mr Dursley he was thick and round with a large moustache and regularly liked to complain about mobile phones and _The Guardian_ before proclaiming that 'this country is going to the dogs.' On the other hand he was never rude to Harry, he asked him for help with the boat rather than ordered it and was quite patient in teaching the basics of sailing to him. Fubster too was quite attentive to Aunt Marge, who was clearly in love with him and in the past few weeks he seemed to be growing rather fond of her in return.

Harry suspected it was not for his benefit that Fubster has whisked them away to sea when they had arrived back from Godric's Hollow and started packing up ready to abandon Aunt Marge's country home for a life on the run. The Colonel too had arranged for all of Marge's precious bulldogs to be looked after by his old housekeeper in their absence even though it was fair to say Mrs Higgens did not look thrilled at the prospect.

They had told Colonel Fubster the lie Harry had first told Marge, that Harry had witnessed a crime and now the head of a terrifying criminal gang was after him.

"Can't trust the police with anything these days." The Colonel had blustered "Let them try and track the boy out at sea Marge."

Unless Fubster was very careful he was going to become the first muggle man Harry had liked in a very long time.

He knew he should leave - he was endangering Aunt Marge and the Colonel just by staying here. Aunt Marge had been with him in Godric's Hollow, was there a possibility Voldemort could have identified her, tracked down her village and then the boat that Fubster owned? The Colonel for all his complaints about red tape and pencil pushers was not so unrespectable as to not register at every harbour they docked at.

"I doubt some gangster's going to look at the shipping logs." Fubster groused.

Harry figured he'd stay with them a bit longer. If Voldemort did eventually come they would be defenceless and they would need Harry to protect them.

He twirled the wand in his fingers watching as the blue light of the Lumos Charm at the tip danced of the walls of the enclave as he did so. Pettigrew's wand was quite short at just over nine inches long and made of a brittle chestnut wood. It made Harry sick to use the traitor's wand, each time he held it he saw his parents dead, Sirius in Azkaban or Peter himself choking the life out of his worthless meagre body. The feelings of distaste could not mask the relief however after weeks of not having a working wand. Harry felt almost as if a limb once ripped from him had been stitched back on, it was awkward, uncomfortable and not as good as before but still present, still of use.

_Dear Lily,_

_I had a nice time talking in the park today. It was great to talk about dragons and Gringotts without your horrid sister spying on us for once. I can't wait until we're at Hogwarts and she isn't creeping around anymore. _

_I'm sorry you weren't able to come in. My Dad doesn't like strangers, he doesn't like many things really but maybe you can visit when he's out. I can show you Mum's cooking books, she doesn't have any proper magic books because Dad doesn't like them but the pictures still move._

_I hope you get this letter. I put it through your letterbox but it might get shoved under the doormat. Real wizards use owls to send letters; I think that's much better because they can find you wherever you are._

_See you tomorrow by the swings._

_Sev_

The letter sat heavily on Harry's knees. The lightweight piece of paper, worn down over thirty years, crushed down on his stomach harder than a seven tonne weight. It sat on top of a pile of similarly scrawled spidery letters that told the story of seven years of friendship blossom and then slowly disintegrate on the onset of war. At first the letters were short, childish notes mostly about plans to meet up the next day then they became longer when Severus and Lily were sorted into different houses at Hogwarts. Around the third year Severus's letters became sharper, more defensive of friendships he had formed with future Death Eaters Mulciber and Avery whilst making snide insults about James Potter and the Marauders.

Then at some point in their fifth year the strained argumentative letters suddenly stopped and Lily received a flurry of grovelling letters begging forgiveness. From what Harry could gather the friendship had ended after that dreadful memory when his father and his friends had tormented Snape who had then lashed out unforgivably at Lily calling her a 'mudblood'. The letters stopped a few months afterwards…Snape must have eventually given up…but Lily…she had kept all those letters. They had been tucked away in a kitchen drawer but she had still kept them – she clearly had not completely forgotten Snape.

Harry felt sick, how could he have not known such a big part of his mother's life, of the history between his father and Snape. People had always spoke of a childish rivalry that had grown into something darker, nobody had ever mentioned James and Snape had both been in love with the same woman and Harry's mother at that.

It suddenly all made sense. All these years Snape had criticised and mocked every minutiae of Harry's life, had taken every opportunity to insult and degrade Harry's father and yet not once had he ever mentioned Harry's mother. How could he not have noticed?

Harry suddenly felt angry with himself for not noticing, for missing something that had been so significant in his mother's life. He became angry that the people who had known Lily had never told him, Petunia, Sirius and Remus. Aunt Petunia of course never talked of his sister but it seemed like something Sirius or Remus should have told him… had they not really known Lily? Not known of her friendship with Snape? Or did they not think he had the right to know?

Harry gripped the letters harder and his breath came out in shorter frustrated puffs of icy clouds in the coldness of the boat. _He had a right to know. _Harry had had a right to know that both of his parents had been betrayed by their best friends.

_Dumbledore had known._

Dumbledore had believed that Snape had greatly regretted betraying Lily and James to Voldemort, that it had been the worst mistake of Snape's life to reveal the prophecy and thereby send Voldemort to woman he loved. Reading Snape's last letter, sent in summer of 1979 Harry could almost understand why.

_Dear Mrs Potter,_

_I am aware that any letter written by me may either cause you pain or be ignored as so many of my others have apparently been. My occasion for writing to you was the notice posted in The Daily Prophet announcing your marriage to James Potter. Whilst it is common courtesy to wish any woman congratulations on the event of her marriage (no matter what __idiot__ man she has taken for a husband) I find myself unable._

_James Potter is an arrogant, brash and impulsive man and whilst such a thing may be charming to a certain type of woman, I had thought you had too much sense to attach yourself to such a creature in a time of war. I will admit the man is a competent wizard with perhaps marginally more talent than your typical moron but the fact remains that he lacks any sense or forethought. Since the Battle of Diagon Alley, Potter has been making noise and a name for himself within the ranks of the Dark Lord and I believe that there are many here that would see taking down Dumbledore's 'Foot Soldier in Chief' as something of a trophy. _

_Potter's cavalier actions have not abated since Hogwarts and I have no doubt he views this war as nothing more than a grand adventure to be enjoyed with his friends. It is not, the Dark Lord has powers you cannot imagine and only a fool would stand in his way. Do not be that fool, you are ten times the sorcerer that Potter is but there is no defeating the Dark Lord. Your only hope is in leaving Potter and in leaving this country. _

_I speak not out of jealously but out of fear that his rash behaviour will do nothing but put you in even more danger. I know that you will never look on me again with anything but disgust and hatred yet whilst your life is at peril I cannot care. You must know that your safety comes before everything, before my petty jealousies, my allegiences, my desires and my fears._

_Please leave Britain Lily. I cannot beg you enough._

_Yours Always_

_Severus Snape_

_P.S. I remain at Spinners End and at your service should you ever be in need._

Harry reread the letter several more times before he went to sleep. It was hard to believe its writer would go on to betray Lily and murder Dumbledore.

oOoOoOo

"I always knew you were batty Granger but I never thought you would actually prove it" Malfoy complained in an irritating whiney voice.

"Oh grow up" Hermione grunted trying to squeeze herself into the tight leopard print strappy top "You are overreacting."

"Overreacting!" Malfoy cried in consternation "The man is a legend!"

"He's a moron" Hermione replied as she heard leaves shuffle behind her "And stay on that side of the tree!"

"Calm down Granger. I'm not that eager to see your bits" he gave what sounded like an overdramatic sigh "They always said sacrifices would have to made in war, that ordinary people did dangerous and dark deeds that could tear your soul. I just never thought I'd be as part as something so depraved and diabolical."

Hermione squeezed her feet into the high heels they had bought and wobbled round the tree, her feet exposed to the frost covered leaves, to face the back of Malfoy's head. "You are such a boy." She said with derision.

"Fine, bring gender into this. I just happen to appreciate good..." he stopped, he had been in the process of turning around when he had spotted her and his eyes went comically wide and his mouth gaping open so wide a whole quaffle could have fitted in it.

"Very funny Malfoy, I am quite aware I look ridiculous" Hermione said snidely. She was dressed as what Mrs Weasley would describe a scarlet woman with a low cut tight top, absurdly short skirt and uncomfortable flimsy heels.

"Ridiculous is not exactly the word that comes to mind" Malfoy said hoarsely and his dark stare made her feel strange. It was the same feeling she had had when Ron had thrown her into the Burrow pond and then as they chased each other in the long grass.

"As I said such a boy" she scoffed pulling on a jacket, it was early December had she had no wish to be any colder on their journey to the village.

Malfoy rolled his eyes "It just seems cruel. The man is a hero and you're going to tempt him with that before we..." he trailed off sounding almost distressed.

He was so like Ron sometimes Hermione realised uncomfortably "It wouldn't work with anybody else. The goblins are bound to get suspicious, you said so yourself, but their guard will be down if they have the opportunity to get into this idiot's vault."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, he wouldn't argue, they had come up with the plan together and despite any last minute nerves founded in hero worship he knew it was the best one they had.

"I thought you liked quidditch players." He stepped towards her and there was a certain glint in his eyes and smirk in his mouth that made Hermione's stomach flip.

"Not the ones of dubious moral character" she said shortly and strode past him out of the copse of trees and onto the main road.

Malfoy snorted "Yeah because Krum came out of Durmstrang as pure as driven snow" he muttered under his breath.

A few seconds later Hermione heard him catch up alongside her, the winter sun bouncing off his almost invisible disillusioned sides. Hermione had never walked such a long way in high heels before and she wobbled considerably causing Malfoy to snigger alongside her as she shot the empty space glaring looks. By the time they reached the village however she had mastered the walk in spite of the painful blisters that seemed to be forming on her soles and heels.

They stopped outside a large shabby house on the outskirts of the village. The front garden was split with weeds and round pebbles and two large rusting sports cars stretched over a sprawling paved driveway. One of the sports cars had a large wasp painted over the bonnet which had faded significantly and the other was missing its back wheels and was propped up by bricks. There were several tiles that had fallen off the roof and the whole place had an air of something impressive that had since gone to seed much like its owner. Next to the wheelie bin were several empty glass bottles that looked as though they had once contained various strains of alcohol.

Hermione wobbled up the garden path hoping that her cold inducing outfit would be enough for the owner to ignore any presence she and Malfoy might feature if he was smart enough to beware strangers knocking on his door in a time of war. It was a cheap trick but after the way he had drooled over Fleur during the Triwizard Tornament it just might work.

She rang the doorbell and waited breathlessly rocking on her heels and wondering where Malfoy had positioned himself.

Ludo Bagman looked very tired and very poor. He appeared to have lost weight since Fourth year and there was an excess of skin that gathered around his chin and his neck. He opened the door in a dirty tattered dressing gown however there was glint once his eyes rested on Hermione.

"Hello and what can I do for you?" he said with a greedy lascivious grin.

"I'm sorry to bother you sir" Hermione said fluttering her eyelashes "I think I'm lost, do you know how I can get to Cricklewood?"

"Cricklewood eh? You must have taken quite a few wrong turns to get here." Bagman chuckled running his eyes up and down Hermione that made her a lot more uncomfortable then when Malfoy had done it earlier "Easy mistake though, I've never understood those mugg..err…sign thingys. You know what?" Bagman said rocking back on his heels and looking like Christmas had come early "I think I've got a map in the..."

A jet of red light shot from two feet away and landed him in the side. Bagman didn't seem to even register the hit before he crumpled down onto the front step.

"I thought we were going to wait until he invited me inside" Hermione snapped to Malfoy as they dragged the unconscious Ludo Bagman into his front hall and shut the door "What if we were seen?"

"Sorry next time I'll wait until he's started to grope you" Malfoy rolled his eyes at her glare "We're in the middle of nowhere. There weren't any muggles, I checked."

They managed to heave Bagman up into an armchair and reawakened him just enough to force a sleeping draft down his throat. The living room smelled of stale smoke and was littered with empty bottles of firewhiskey and the sports pages from numerous copies of _The Daily Prophet_. The room had been decorated with framed magazine covers featuring Bagman in his glory days and the mantelpiece heaved from old sparkling trophies…it appeared they were the only things in this house that Bagman continued to care for.

"That should knock him out for a while" Hermione said satisfactorily.

As Hermione performed a memory charm of the snoring gambler Malfoy moved around the room picking up old trophies and magazine articles that Bagman had apparently kept about himself.

"Look at these" Malfoy said eagerly picking up each well-polished golden and solver trinket in turn "Flyer of the Match, Beater of the Year, Quidditch League Champion…Blimey!"

"Yes, he certainly thought a lot of himself" Hermione said finishing the memory charm as the Bagmans in the framed copies of _Which Broomstick _and _The Daily Prophet_'s Sport pages winked and leered down at her "Let's get this over with."

Malfoy's enthusiasm and awe drooped as Hermione plucked a couple of thinning yellow hairs from the unconscious Bagman's head and dropped it into the flask of polyjuice potion she took from her beaded bag.

They both gulped as the liquid bubbled and burped into a weak red colour that smelt strongly of stale sweat.

Hermione stared at Malfoy and she suddenly felt doubt. He was not Harry or Ron, they had not been on this journey together for the past seven years. Could she really ask this of him?

"Well…" Malfoy hesitated looking uncharacteristically nervous before grabbing the flask and holding it aloft "Cheers."

oOoOoOo

The decision to get locked up in Azkaban was far easier made than executed. Snape and Dumbledore refused point blank to help Ron and soon Ron began to suspect they were actively plotting ways to keep him within the Order's hold.

It was therefore left to poor Neville to help Ron craft a very quick and crude plan to get into Azkaban and rescue Luna. Before Ron left the next morning they had agreed that it would be best if Ron was arrested by somebody very low level who would not recognise him or ask awkward questions.

"It should be easier than it was" Neville said as they poured through the stacks of Daily Prophets that Neville had been hoarding since the start of term. "They're arresting everybody nowadays. The most important thing is to get you and Luna out of the prison before your court date. It may just be a show trial but they'll definitely want a better identity than unidentified red haired male."

"Well there's no point making one up" Ron said "Umbridge, Runcorn, Yaxley and that will recognise me and I don't have any polyjuice potion."

They agreed it was best that Ron get captured by a group called Snatchers.

"Hired thugs that the Ministry use to do the dirty unimportant work." Neville explained "Nasty fellows but not too bright. Ernie Macmillan's great aunt was able to escape by telling them they'd gotten the wrong house."

Before the sun came up they practiced patronuses in the Room of Requirement. As the first peeks of golden light began to leak into the stain glass windows, Ron realised his time was up. He had to leave the castle, for the sake of Snape, Neville and Luna. It was time to leave the safe warm embrace of Hogwarts and finally join Harry and Hermione on the run in the fight against You Know Who.

.

The Haunted Headless Hag looked like the grottiest, most squalid hole in Knockturn Alley. Whilst The Hog's Head looked as though it had not been cleaned in some time, the Headless Hag looked never have been in spitting distance of so much as a dusting charm. The disgusting hovel was literally a hole in the alley in that one had to descend through a wooden hatch in the cobbled streets. After the hatch was a rickety ladder, the wood was damp and seemed to be rotting, Ron held tight as he climbed fearing falling down. This was definitely the stupidest thing he had ever done.

No one turned to look at him as he stepped not onto wooden floorboards or stone paving slabs but hard compacted earth that carried the faint smell of vomit.

The Weird Sisters played loudly over the wireless as men not that much older than Ron drank rowdily. Men and boys with long, tangled hair, pallid complexions and tattered robes drank brightly coloured firewhiskeys and dragon tonics.

Ron adjusted his hood slightly to make sure his face was covered. He had spelled his hair yellow and tried to magically disguise his features as much as possible and there was no reason to get noticed at this point. The tables were crowded together in the small space and Ron carefully picked his way through them.

"Picked it up at the Patils, didn't we Trevor?" A young man in fingerless gloves and a broken nose sniggered as he showed his compatriots the pile of gold and glittering jewellery that had been dumped on the table.

"That ought to teach old Praveet not talk back to his betters" Trevor snorted.

Ron tried to hide his shiver; he hoped the Patils were all right. A witch at another table snorted up what Ron sincerely doubted was caster sugar as she was cheered on by her friends.

The barman did not blink at Ron's hood and served him a firewhiskey no questions asked. Ron had drunk firewhiskey once when he had returned home from Sixth Year. Fred, George and Bill had taken him to The Leaky Cauldron especially since it was his first holidays since becoming of age. Ron squashed down the memory, he couldn't start to think of his family or he would never go through with this.

He was doing it for Luna. Kind strange Luna who was too good, too light for Azkaban.

"Get a move on Scabior!" someone growled from across the pub. Ron clenched when he saw the owner of the voice. Fenrir Greyback sat at a table by the fire looking as monstrous as ever, his scars even more menacing in the flickering firelight and shadows. Greyback was casually leant back in a tall wing backed chair that almost acted as a crude throne for his seedy followers that drank around him.

"What's one more round?" The man named Scabior sniggered as he stumbled over to the bar and sat a couple of stools away from Ron.

He had a fanged earring, a long black leather coat and...his wand was sticking out of his pocket. Ron held his breath, this was it...this was his best chance if ever there was one.

As Scabior ordered three more dragon tonics Ron downed the last of his firewhiskey and took a deep breath. He glanced quickly at Greyback's table; it was on the opposite side of the pub to the ladder in the entrance.

Ron got off his stool and casually walked past the bar swiping Scabior's wand smoothly out of his pocket and slipping it into his own before weaving through the tables.

As he began to slowly climb the ladder, Ron was just wondering if he had been too clever. Then a loud shout echoed through the general rabble of the pub.

"Me wand!" Scabior shouted from behind Ron. Ron's lungs stopped inflating for a second. "He's nicked my wand."

Scabior must have pointed to Ron for the next second several poorly aimed jinxes shot in Ron's direction. Ron scrambled up the ladder as he heard chairs and tables crash below him. He pushed the hatch open and clambered out, his fingernails breaking on the cobbled stones of Knockturn Alley in desperation.

A greasy hand shot out and grabbed his ankle. Panting Ron kicked it away and in a sudden burst of alertness slammed the hatch close on one of the Snatcher's heads knocking his chasers back down to the pub below.

He needed one minute…just one minute. Ron ran as fast as he could through Knockturn Alley before he found a little hideaway nook hidden behind some dustbins.

"Where did he go?" Scabior shouted from somewhere nearby.

Ron tried to still his panting breath and wondered desperately if there was any way to make his pounding heart to beat any quieter.

"He's of Hogswarts age" Greyback growled and it sounded as though he was licking his lips "And its term time."

"Never mind about that, what about my wand?!" Scabior demanded.

There was a loud growl, then a whack quickly followed by a shout of pain.

"He might have gone the other way. Trotter take the wandless oaf back towards the Wyvern and search for him round the back of Madam Ophelia's." Greyback ordered "You two, with me."

Ron held his breath before their footsteps faded into the distance before letting it out in relieved stream as his chest sagged inwards. Reaching into his cloak, he pulled out both his and Scabior's wands.

He held his own wand in the palm of his hand and gripped Scabior's wand with a temporary transfiguration spell that changed his own wand into a tiny dull yellow hair clip. Ron slipped the clip into his curly blond hair so that it was hidden and then taking a deep breath got to his shaking legs and left the safety of the dustbins.

Ron looked left and right, there was no sign of the Snatchers. It was late afternoon but the alley was quite deserted…Diagon Alley had been just as empty.

Closing his eyes and thinking of Luna, Ron reached out and pushed the nearest dustbin over so it fell with a crashing clang that echoed through the backstreets of Knockturn Alley. A few seconds later three figures appeared from the end of the alley, Ron gulped as he saw that one of them was Greyback. He closed his eyes.

"_Stupefy!"_

Everything went black and Ron's last memory was his head cracking against the hard stone cobbles of Knockturn Alley.

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story in general so far (both positive and negative criticism welcome.)**


	22. The Great Gringotts Bank Robbery

They Apparated straight into Diagon Alley from Bagman's house. The crooked, cobbled street was much altered now from the bustling place Hermione had visited before her first term at Hogwarts so many years ago. Many more shops had been boarded up, though several new establishments dedicated to the Dark Arts had been created since her last visit. Hermione shivered when she saw Harry's face glare down at her from posters plastered over many windows, always captioned with the words UNDESIRABLE NUMBER ONE.

A number of ragged people sat huddled in doorways. She heard them moaning to the few passers-by, pleading for gold, insisting that they were really wizards. One man had a bloody bandage over his eye.

As they set off along the street, the beggars glimpsed Malfoy; they flocked to him holding out their hands for gold. A man with the bloodied bandage pushed through the crowds and grasped at Malfoy's robes.

"Please Mr Bagman" he begged "My children, you can help find them…The Ministry has them…you can help…please."

Malfoy looked at once disgusted and alarmed. "Get away!" He urged flapping his hands.

The people appeared not to pay attention, tugging at Hermione's muggle clothes too…then suddenly they fled – scurrying back to hide in doorways or crevices between shops.

"I didn't think that would work" Malfoy muttered to her under his breath.

Hermione grabbed his arm and urged them on, conscious of the time limit of the polyjuice potion they had taken "Come on, we don't have much time."

Malfoy nodded and they walked quickly to the towering white marble edifice of Gringotts Bank that loomed at the edge of the alley. They had just reached the steps when Hermione realised what had cause the people to flee.

"Greyback" Malfoy muttered under his breath and grabbed her hand in his.

Hermione's insides clenched as the savage werewolf swept into the street from Knockturn Alley, a long black leather cloak whipping in the wind behind him. His face was as scarred as ever and he was wearing a necklace of teeth…some of which to Hermione's horror looked to be _human_.

Greyback was being followed out of Knockturn Alley by a large group of unsavoury looking characters. In their clutches they dragged an old man who had been beaten and tied and…

"Ron…" Hermione whispered. The changes to his face and his hair colour could not fool Hermione; it was Ron who was being dragged between two large scruffy looking wizards. His head hung limply so he could not see her (not that he would recognise her after polyjuice), his robes were torn and his lip had been split open.

Without thinking she stepped towards them. Malfoy instantly yanked her back by her elbow – a second later Greyback, his entourage and Ron Disapperated with a loud _CRACK_!

The desolate Diagon Alley seemed to echo a silent relief of tension at their disappearance. It was a sentiment Hermione did not share.

"What did you do that for?" She hit Malfoy on the arm.

"Are you crazy?" Malfoy hissed, his brown Bagman eyes darting around checking to see if anyone was watching "You can't just go up to Greyback, do you know what would have happened if you confronted him?"

"They had _Ron?"_ Hermione whispered furiously. What part of this was he not getting?

"We were outnumbered ten to one" Malfoy hissed back having the nerve to look incredulous.

"I don't care" Hermione said through gritted teeth.

"Well your boyfriend might care if you get murdered right in front of him" Malfoy shot back acidly "The wizarding world might care if we don't get this weapon from Gringotts."

Hermione glared at him mutinously. If she could have gone after Greyback and Ron she would have but she had no idea where they had Disapparated to.

"Weasley was in disguise. They don't know who he is." Malfoy conceded and to her surprise he rubbed her upper arm as though he was trying to console her "He escaped the Ministry, as long as they don't work out who he is, he'll probably escape this." Hermione continued staring at him with daggers in her eyes "Look we've only got one hour to do this, do you really want to come back another day and risk Bagman blowing our cover."

He was right, of course he was right. It was now or never and finding that Horcrux was just too important. That didn't mean she was about to admit it though.

"Fine" Hermione said shortly and flinched away from his hand marching quickly towards the bank.

Malfoy had caught up with her by the time Hermione had arrived the foot of the marble steps leading up to the great bronze doors. As Malfoy had already warned her, the liveried goblins that usually flanked the entrance had been replaced by two wizards, both of whom were clutching long thin golden rods.

The probity probes detected spells of concealment and hidden magical objects. They did not detect polyjuice potion but Hermione's magical beaded bag would not be so lucky. As the wizards the golden rods and passed them up and down Malfoy's body Hermione pointed Rabastan's wand at each of the guards in turn and murmured, "_Confundo_" twice. Each of the guards gave a little start as the spells hit them.

Hermione stepped up to the bronze doors balancing precariously on the high heels.

"One moment, madam," said the guard, raising his Probe.

"But you've just done that!" Hermione snapped in what she hoped was a stupid and entitled tone.

The guard was confused. He stared down at the thin golden Probe and then at his companion, who said in a slightly dazed voice, "Yeah, you've just checked them, Marius."

Malfoy swept inside ahead of her, she followed behind glancing back as they crossed the threshold. The wizards were both scratching their heads.

Two goblins stood before the inner doors, which were made of silver and which carried the poem warning of dire retribution to potential thieves. The long counter was manned by goblins sitting on high stools serving the first customers of the day. Large glittering chandeliers sparkled giving the hall a cool polished glow.

Hermione had begun to rethink their plan as soon as they stepped over the threshold. Over the course of about ten seconds the chatter of goblins and customers died down as one by one each small pointed head turned in their direction. Soon the entire bank was silent and every goblin present was staring at Malfoy with gleaning calculating eyes and twisted smiles.

Malfoy audibly gulped. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Mr Bagman such a pleasure to see you back in our hallowed halls" a goblin with long white stringy hair and the finest robes in the bank tottered down the aisle towards them; he was practically salivating "It has been too long."

All around them the rest of the goblins looked on greedily.

Malfoy cleared his throat "I have come to pay my debts."

The white haired goblin's eyes gleamed even more although Hermione noticed scepticism in his eyes. They had chosen Bagman on the assumption that the Gringotts would be so eager to get their hands on Bagman's vault they would not ask too many questions – what they had not considered was that the goblins may want revenge for the appalling way Bagman had cheated them.

"Indeed" The white hair goblin replied.

"I am getting married" Malfoy pulled Hermione a little too close for her liking. "This is my fiancé Tallulah. I would like to settle everything before we begin our lives together."

"Pleased to meet you" Hermione gave a wide smile, she felt like the rest of the goblins were looking at her.

"Ragnok – Head of Debt Recovery" the white haired goblin introduced himself with a nasty grin "This way please."

He gestured towards a small staircase on the left that went up.

"Uh…are we not going to the vaults?" Malfoy asked.

"Not just yet" Ragnok grinned even wider "First there are matters to _discuss._"

Hermione clutched Malfoy harder; she had brought him into danger. Neither of them had seen what goblin magic could do up close but they had both heard the stories.

As they left the hall and followed Ragnok up a shallow staircase Hermione heard the scraping of stools as goblins and customers alike strained for a better look.

They appeared in an empty polished marble corridor with a window at one end that looked over Diagon Alley and let in cool winter sunlight. Hermione became more nervous as they walked down the corridor, there were no doors, no offices – this didn't seem like the type of place where business would be discussed.

She could hear Malfoy's breathing get louder as they walked further away from that window and it got darker, there were no chandeliers or torches up here to light their way. She was still holding Malfoy's hand and he gripped it harder. By the time they reached the end of the corridor they were almost in pitch blackness, Hermione looked back and saw the window to Diagon Alley was now but a speck – how long was this corridor – the upper floors of Gringotts were not that big surely?

Hermione frantically tried to think of something but all their planning had been directed at what to do when they got underground, they had not factored in being taken to the upper halls.

"One moment please" Ragnok spoke at last, his croaking voice dripping with malicious triumph. He ran one long yellowed fingernail diagonally across the blank was in front of him. A large black panelled door with a heavy iron lock rippled into existence.

Ragnok gestured to it almost daringly "Please…"

"_Imperio!" _Malfoy suddenly cried shooting the spell at Ragnok. A glazed look and vacant expression fell over the goblin.

"What did you do?" Hermione asked in shock "That's an unforgivable."

"Do you want to find out what's behind that door?" Malfoy asked.

"It could just be an office"

"Fine – take a look. Be my guest."

Hermione hesitated and twisted her fingers anxiously "Did you have to use the Imperius Curse?"

"What else do you suggest?" Malfoy argued "We were never going to get down to the ancestral vaults by luck anyway."

"Merlin, this was a stupid plan" Hermione muttered to herself.

"This was your plan" Malfoy pointed out.

"We don't have time for this." Hermione said looking at her watch, "We only have forty five minutes until the potion wears off and who knows how long it will take us to get to the vaults."

"Right" Malfoy nodded and he addressed Ragnok "You will take us to the Lestrange vault. Take us so we do not have to go through via the main hall. We shall need the Clankers."

"Yes sir" Ragnok nodded and he led them back along the corridor.

"Don't make him call you sir" Hermione whispered angrily. It wasn't Ragnok's fault they had no choice but to Imperio him.

Malfoy scoffed as Ragnok stopped once more and drew a finger across another blank stretch of wall. Another staircase appeared and he led them down into another corridor which was actually filled with offices.

There were only a handful of goblins about down here but they all stopped and watched with interest as Malfoy and Hermione waited outside Ragnok's office for him to return a moment later with a leather bag that seemed to be full of jangling metal.

Clanking away Ragnok led them down another secret staircase; the office goblins were watching them closely.

"We're in trouble" Malfoy said as soon as they entered a stone passage "That lot will tell the others, they'll want to know why Ragnok's not torturing us. Do you want to get out now, while we still can?"

Hermione thought for a moment. She remembered Ron being dragged away by Greyback and then Harry still missing "No" she replied quietly "We've come this far, we won't get another chance."

She expected Malfoy to object but he merely shrugged his shoulders and helped her into the rickety cart where Ragnok already sat.

With a jerk the cart moved off, gathering speed. Soon the cart began twisting and turning through the labyrinthine passages, sloping downward all the time. Hermione could not hear anything over the rattling of the cart on the tracks: Her polyjuiced blonde hair flew behind her as they swerved between stalactites, flying ever deeper into the earth. She kept glancing back, worrying about the office goblins. If they found out that Malfoy and Hermione were after something in the Lestrange vault, if Voldemort found out…

There were a deeper than Hermione had ever penetrated within Gringotts; they took a hairpin bend at speed and lurched down a steep incline. Malfoy grabbed Hermione's hand from where he had let it go earlier, he had gone quite white.

"I hate this part" He muttered.

Eventually the track evened out onto flat and trundled to a gentle stop. They got out of the cart and Ragnok lead them along a stone passage.

"Ready?" Malfoy asked with a smirk, he seemed to have recovered from the cart journey.

Hermione nodded bravely, you weren't friends with Hagrid for six years without becoming somewhat prepared for what would soon greet them.  
Once they turned a corner however Hermione was still brought to a halt by the sight before her. A gigantic dragon was tethered to the ground in front of them, barring access to four or five of the deepest vaults in the place. The beast's scales had turned pale and flaky during its long incarceration under the ground, its eyes were milkily pink; both rear legs bore heavy cuffs from which chains led to enormous pegs driven deep into the rocky floor. Its great spiked wings, folded close to its body, would have filled the chamber if it spread them, and when it turned its ugly head toward them, it roared with a noise that made the rock tremble, opened its mouth, and spat a jet of fire that sent them running back up the passageway.

"It is partially blind, but just as dangerous" Malfoy explained, "Ragnok use the Clankers, pass some to me" he ordered before turning to Hermione "You may want to look away."

Hermione shook her head and took some of the small metal instruments from Ragnok herself. Malfoy had explained beforehand what the Clankers did but that did not mean she still did not feel sorrow and ashamed when she saw what the ringing noise they made did to the dragon.

The dragon let out another hoarse roar, then retreated. Hermione could see it trembling, and as they drew nearer she saw the scars made by vicious slashes across its face, and knew that it had been taught to fear hot swords when it heard the sound of the Clankers.

Malfoy turned his wand on Ragnok as the dragon slinked away. The white haired goblin pressed his palm to the wood, and the door of the vault melted away to reveal a cave like opening crammed from floor to ceiling with golden coins and goblets, silver armour, the skins of strange creatures (some with long spines, other with drooping wings) potions in jewelled flasks, and a skull still wearing a crown.

"Search, fast!" said Hermione as they hurried inside the vault. Malfoy pointed his wand at Ragnok who kept the door open, Hermione tried not to think about the fact that he was so good at the Imperio curse. The Lestranges had placed protective charms on the treasure inside but Malfoy had a good idea of what these were (as they were the same charms used for most ancestral vaults) and so Hermione and Malfoy were prepared to remove them.

"Look for either a small golden cup with a Hufflepuff shield on it or something with the Ravenclaw shield." She instructed.

"A cup?!" Malfoy asked in shock as Hermione started riffling through old chests. Bellatrix had been incredibly overprotective, there wasn't a chance she wouldn't have hidden it well "I thought we were looking for a weapon not Hogwarts memorabilia."

"Not all weapons are impressive looking" Hermione sang opening a large chest of what turned out to be very old fine robes "Look at you, you've managed to cause quite a bit of damage in your time."

"Oh Ha Ha" Malfoy replied sarcastically "Hey Granger, this what you're looking for by any chance?"  
Hermione turned round and to her astonishment she saw Malfoy standing on a make shift ladder of chairs and boxes and holding the gleaming sword of Gryffindor – the rubies on its hilt sparkled brightly in the dim light.

"No" Hermione whispered in awe wondering how on earth the Lestranges had got their hands on the Sword of Gryffindor and unable to believe her luck "But keep it anyway, we'll need it."

"Hey there's no way I'm giving this back" Malfoy said happily as she turned back to search some more "I can't wait to see Potter and Weasleys' faces when I tell them I'm keeping it."

Hermione smiled to herself wondering if he would dare say such a thing to Professor McGonagall.

They directed their wands into every nook and crevice, Hermione's wand light passed over shields and goblin-made helmets set on shelves rising to the ceiling; higher and higher she raised the beam, until suddenly it found an object that made her heart skip and her hand tremble.

"It's there, it's up there!"

Malfoy pointed his wand at it too, so that the little golden cup sparkled in a two-way spotlight: the cup that had belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, which had passed into the possession of Hepzibah Smith, from whom it had been stolen by Tom Riddle.

"How do we get up there?" Hermione wondered, Malfoy's make shift ladder of old furniture was not nearly stable enough to reach such a height. Malfoy thought carefully, he had strapped Gryffindor's sword to his side.

"How much do you want that cup?" Malfoy eventually asked her, his eyes sparkling.

"Why?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"Well you can't summon it, so I really can see no other way." Malfoy shrugged lazily.

Hermione gave a great sigh "Go ahead."

What she had meant of course was 'Go ahead and explain your idea' not 'Go ahead and levitate me into the air so that I'm hanging upside down by my ankle.'

"_Malfoy!" _Hermione shrieked as she was dragged into the air, she frantically grabbed at her shirt and skirt but fortunately they were too tight too fall down and reveal anything.

"Shh, keep it down Granger" Malfoy said gently levitating her higher and higher "Good bank robbers don't shout."

"I am going to kill you" She growled looking down at him from above. "I am going to smother you in your sleep."

"Promises, promises" Malfoy called back and Hermione would have blushed if all the blood was not already rushing to her head.

Her foot grazed the ceiling once she was high enough and she swung ungracefully from side to side before she could grab the cup. A jolt of triumph washed through her. She had a Horcrux – only three to go. When Malfoy lowered her back down to the floor she was so excited that she actually hugged him.

Malfoy looked a little red faced at this but not entirely unpleased as he scratched his neck awkwardly afterwards. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Hermione readily agreed and she stuffed both the sword and the cup inside her beaded bag and then tucked the bag into the inside of her socks for good measure.

Their search in the vaults and journey back from them had gone so well that by the time they entered the main hall at Gringotts they had forgotten that Malfoy still looked like Bagman. They had forgotten that Ragnok was standing stupidly grinning by their side when he was supposed to be torturing them. They had forgotten about the office goblins.

There was a brief second when Hermione, Malfoy and Ragnok stared at the goblins of Gringotts and the goblins of Gringotts stared back.

"Seize then" A tall impressive looking goblin in the centre of the room cried.

The wizarding guards they had seen outside and several goblins ran at them. Hermione cried "_Confringo!"_ shooting orange light at some desks and causing them to explode.

Malfoy seized Ragnok round his waist and the pair ran through the hall shooting and ducking spells. "Get them!" One of the wizards yelled.

"_Stupefy!_" Malfoy shouted "_Stupefy!"_

"_Confringo!"_ Hermione shouted again causing more desks to explode and bits of wood and paper flew everywhere. In the confusion they were able to push their way out of doors. Running together down the steps Hermione twisted in the air trying to Disapparate but nothing happened. She and Malfoy looked at one another in alarm.

"Let's split up!" Malfoy shouted. They ran, they were being chased down Diagon Alley.

"No!" Hermione objected, he looked like Bagman – they would go after him. "I can…"

"You are not breaking the taboo again" Malfoy hissed "It's too dangerous."

Hermione tried to object again but Malfoy suddenly pushed her down a side street before disappearing in the opposite direction. Their pursuers were not far behind and she had no choice but to run away from Malfoy and Ragnok.

It soon became clear that the goblins and guards had gone looking for Bagman and after ten minutes of running down back alleys Hermione slowed down and grabbed at her side where a painful stitch was forming, her hair fell down in front of her and she saw that it had turned back to bushy brown. The polyjuice potion had worn off.

"Well, well, well." A smug sugary voice said in triumph as a long thin wand was pointed at Hermione's neck and slowly used to bring up her chin "Not who I expected to be aiding Ludo Bagman's robbery of Gringotts."

Hermione stared in horror at the satisfied painted smirk of Rita Skeeter.

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story so far in general (both positive and negative criticism welcome)**


	23. Ron in Azkaban

Hermione awoke to a very uncomfortable feeling in her back and sore pains in her wrists. She became aware that she was tied sitting upright to a chair in somebody's sitting room – Rita Skeeter's sitting room to be exact. Hermione could hear the woman's muffled shrill voice from the next room. At first she was alarmed that someone else was with Rita but she could only hear Rita's sharp tones and realised that the harpy must be using the floo.

Hermione gulped and there was a distinct feeling of dread in her stomach. She knew Rita too well to expect to just be handed over to the Death Eaters, Rita Skeeter would want her scoop first but then…well it was anyone's guess. Either way she would be expected to betray Harry and Hermione knew the lengths Rita Skeeter went for a story.

She was hit with a stab of anxiety when she thought of what might have become Malfoy. Had he been captured by the goblins? It scared her what they might do to him while they thought he was Bagman and then once the polyjuice potion wore off would they turn him over to the Death Eaters?

Maybe it was ok, she thought desperately, maybe it was fine and he had escaped Diagon Alley and the goblins. But even if he had, where would he go? She had all the camping equipment and supplies in her hidden beaded bag, which was currently out of reach tucked in her sock. It was too much to expect that he would return to their forest hideaway in the middle of winter. He would go abroad, she realised, it was the safest option and she would never see him again. Hermione felt sadder at this than she expected to.

The voice in the next room got louder and shriller and Hermione was able to make out snatches of phrases; "listen you no good snivelling…", "…all the apothecaries in the country…" and "urgent…lead of the century…"

Hermione gulped again. Rita was trying to get Veritserum she was sure of it. Veritserum was ordinarily a highly restricted and difficult to make potion which was much more easily obtained by academics and government officials that the ordinary witch on the street. Rita was no ordinary witch on the street however and Hermione had no doubt that she had procured Veritserum before.

Hermione looked around to assess her surroundings. She seemed to be in a flat on the second or third floor as she could see the top of a leafless frosted tree outside a window specked with condensation.

The walls of the sitting room were covered in press cuttings of Rita's most scandalous and salacious stories. All around Hermione shame faced witches and wizards looked down under headlines of '_Head of Magical Transport Secret Love Child Shame!', 'Monster Snake at Hogwarts: Your Children in Danger – Ministry Does Nothing!', 'Burnt-out Bagnold: Jumped or Pushed?'_ and of course '_Harry Potter Disturbed and Dangerous_.'

Each of them made Hermione sick as she thought of the lies and half-truths that must have gone into each corresponding article. Perched on top of the mantelpiece was a copy of that garish monstrosity _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore._

"Like them?" Hermione turned to see Rita standing in the doorway wearing a smug triumphant smirk and casually twirling Hermione's wand in her long manicured talons. The trash expose on Dumbledore appeared to have reinvigorated Rita, she wore garishly green velvet robes and her hair was a shiny white blonde that was tightly curled into a professional hairstyle.

"I can never decide which is my favourite" Rita proclaimed sauntering into the room, Hermione's wand in one hand and a glass of gillywater "I suppose it's always a privilege to report on something truly important" She gazed fondly on the article entitled '_Scenes of Terror at Quidditch World Cup_' before her face transformed into a malicious smirk and she turned to the article on Harry "But then it is so satisfying uncovering a scoop oneself."

Hermione's familiar hatred for the woman simmered inside her and she just glared.

"Of course" Rita said cheerily turning her predatory gaze to Hermione "Now I won't have to choose." She looked at Hermione with a greedy grin as though she were a particularly expensive pair of high heeled dragon leather shoes.

"You don't honestly expect me to tell you anything" Hermione shot speaking back for the first time.

Rita laughed "Oh my dear, you are quite the story by yourself. The girlfriend of Harry Potter attempting to break into Gringotts with that pathetic letch Bagman? It's the lead of the century." She said happily "He may have gone to seed very badly but Bagman still sells papers – wizards can be awfully nostalgic especially about quidditch and I don't have to tell you what the interest is in any story linked to Harry Potter."

Hermione continued to glare at her. She knew better than to believe Rita. Hermione being captured outside Gringotts was a story, a big one but Rita Skeeter would never be satisfied with just that.

"It's my civic duty to hand you over to the Ministry you know. I hear they are becoming quite harsh on _your kind_." Rita said slowly stroking the tip of Hermione's wand with a long shiny purple talon "Of course I might be tempted to look the other way… for a certain price."

"You're despicable" Hermione hissed.

"And you my dear are a pragmatist" Rita countered "So give up the goods, we both know you won't die for Potter."

"You don't know anything." Hermione looked at her in shock "Of course I would die for Harry."

Rita cackled with derision "More fool you" she said. "Where is Harry Potter now? He won't come to save you, you pathetic little girl. As far as I can see he has abandoned you altogether so why not save yourself?"

"You're heinous" Hermione replied lowly "People are being killed and all you care about is some story."

"I'm not the one whose killing them" Rita said casually before pouting "Besides a girl has to eat."

Hermione scoffed in derision "Rita is a muggle name. Don't tell me you're a pureblood – you are helping people who will always look down on you."

"And you're going to stop them?" Rita cackled with laughter once more "You and Potter, a couple of whiny moping teenagers, are going to defeat the most powerful wizard that has ever lived."

"Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard that ever lived" Hermione answered automatically.

"Dumbledore is dead you stupid girl" Rita shot back and she leaned in close, Hermione tried not to choke on her rich perfume, whispering "This is the world we live in and the best any of us can do is earn a bit of gold and try to make a name for ourselves so why don't you be a good little school witch and tell me where Potter is?"

Hermione spat at her.

Skeeter stood up and wiped the spit of her cheek. She then brought her hand down and slapped Hermione across the cheek with a sharp _Whack!_

"I'd start talking and quickly" Rita said coldly as she grabbed a copy of _The Evening Prophet_ from the desk nearby and started rifling through the pages "Before somebody else does and I no longer have any use for you."

She tossed the paper onto Hermione's lap and Hermione look down to where page seven had been opened. Underneath a headline of '_Truant and Mudblood Caught in Knockturn Alley – Nest Destination Azkaban'_ was the image of Ron in disguise struggling against the hold of his captors.

oOoOoOo

"Put your back into it Potter!" Aunt Marge screamed from the other side of _The Floating Cavalier_ her voice barely registered over the howling wind and rain that beat against the boat.

Harry strained against the rope pulling at it until his palms were sore whilst Marge tightened up the main sail oblivious to the splashes of icy sea water that rose up every so often and hit her. Behind them Colonel Fubster stood hardened and stalwart behind the helm fearlessly navigating them through the stormy choppy waters of the Humber. He was shouting to be heard over the radio as he spoke to the port authority.

Ahead through his misty glasses Harry could see the bright lights of the city of Hull at the water's edge. They had been at sea for almost a week and his mouth salivated at the thought of getting some decent food for once that didn't come out of cans. When the rope was tight enough Harry hastened to tie it off before rushing over to help Marge with the main sail.

He slipped on the wet dock and a thick hand grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him from falling "Watch it Potter" Marge scolded.

"Thanks" Harry grinned helping her with the tricky sail; the rain beat down like tiny icicles being fired like arrows at him.

"No running on my boat!" Fubster shouted although his words were carried off into the distance by the bellowing wind.

Fingers numb and backs sore the three of them pushed and pulled and eventually brought the boat into port and moored it safely. Fubster hopped onto the dock with the agility of a man half of his age, as he secured the boat the rain dripped to a halt and the wind died down.

Marge put her hand on her hips and gazed upwards to the clearing night sky "Bloody typical" She huffed.

"Marge where did you put the registration papers?" Fubster asked from the dock where he was speaking to the harbour master.

"They're down below Fubby" Marge replied "I'll get them."

Harry followed her below deck "Hey, I was thinking about getting some food." He told her as she rifled through one of the kitchen drawers.

Marge shot him a suspicious look.

"I've got the cloak" He defended.

"And look how well that turned out last time" She warned.

"They were looking for me in Godric's Hollow" Harry reasoned "There's no reason for me to be in Hull; and besides this isn't some tiny village where a stranger will stand out."

Marge's eyes narrowed "I don't like it" she said. If he didn't know better he would have said she was worried about him.

"I thought you didn't like scroungers" Harry pointed out before smirking "Besides, it'll give you some time alone with _Fubby._"

Marge's face contorted as though she was trying not to smile "Go on, get out boy before I hit you."

"Cheers Marge" Harry grinned. He swiped up his cloak, wand, Fubster's map book on towns and cities of Yorkshire and the locket from under the mattress in his bunk and left the boat. He stuffed the locket in his jeans pocket, he hated the damn thing but wasn't about to leave a piece of Voldemort's soul alone with Aunt Marge and Colonel Fubster. He checked no-one was watching, swung on the invisibility cloak and headed into Hull.

The sun had set but it was still early evening and people were only just leaving work. Harry had to duck into the road every now and then to avoid people racing for buses or parts where the pavement was crowded. He passed a few supermarkets but did not stop; he would get the food later.

In all his years at Hogwarts Harry had never imagined his struggle against Voldemort would depend upon something Colin Creevey of all people mentioned in passing. Colin talked about anything he could think of in Harry's presence, especially when he had first come to Hogwarts. This was mostly photography, Hogwarts, quidditch and just how generally amazing Harry was. Harry had tried to listen as little as possible whilst simultaneously restraining himself from punching Ron who found the whole thing hilarious.

One thing had stuck and that was a passing reference of a magical bookshop in Hull right next to the train station.

"Dennis and I always go there when we're waiting for the train to take us to London" Colin used to gush "Professor Sprout took me there when she came to tell me I was a wizard. It's brilliant, not as good as Flourish &amp; Blotts of course but still pretty good. It's got loads of books on quidditch and magical beasts in other countries and…"

Harry had stopped listening then because the bell had rung and he had leapt at the chance to escape. Now four years later he was standing outside Hull Station looking at the tiny dusty black shop squeezed between the train station and an electrical goods shop that had large television screens in the windows.

The bookshop's windows were clouded over so you could not see inside and overhead faded gold lettering announced its name of _Spindle &amp; Coils_. Harry hesitated, he couldn't just go into the shop, the shop keeper would notice and despite serving muggleborns in the past they might not be so keen on having _Undesirable Number One_ on their premises at the moment.

Around him the muggles of Hull rushed in and out of the train station or stepped into the electrical goods shop apparently oblivious to the magical bookshop in their midst. Harry had to wait a good half hour in the damp cold before an elderly witch, who had attempted to disguise herself very poorly as a muggle by wearing a three piece tuxedo, approached the shop. Harry entered after her careful not to step on her overlong trousers.

"Evening Doris" The bored middle aged wizard sitting behind the counter reading _The Evening Prophet_ greeted.

"Good Evening Terry" The witch greeted back "Has Greta Catchlove's new cookbook arrived yet?"

As Terry pointed in the direction of the new cookbook Harry took a chance to look around. Colin was right; it wasn't as good as Flourish and Blotts. Spindle &amp; Coils was small at best and pokey at worst, there was a bookcase by the counter entitled 'Back to Hogwarts' that shelved textbooks but everything else seemed to be a mixture of cookbooks, books on quidditch, travel books and the largest section appeared to be dedicated to autobiographies of witches and wizards such as the Weird Sisters, Glenda Chittock and to Harry's horror Gilderoy Lockhart. There did not seem to be much in here that would help in a quest to discover and destroy Horcruxes.

"Anything new in there?" Doris asked nodding to _The Evening Prophet_ as she approached the counter to pay for her book.

"Same old doom and gloom" Terry said putting the paper to one side as he rang up the book. Harry too approached the counter and appraised the Hogwarts textbooks, they at least might be useful but he was sure they would be placed under some sort of anti-theft spell.

"Honesty the way the Ministry goes on you would have thought muggleborns waited under our beds at night ready to slit our throats." Terry continued handing Doris her change.

"Now you shush" Doris scolded "I'm sure the Ministry knows what they're doing. Besides that kind of talk will get you in trouble – didn't you hear what happened to Xenophilius Lovegood?"

At any other point in time Harry's ears would have strained on the mention of Luna's father but presently the voices of Terry and Doris had drifted away into some distant fog. Instead he stared down in horror at Terry's newspaper which was open to a photo of a wizard struggling against two nasty looking thugs under the headline '_Truant and Mudblood Caught in Knockturn Alley – Nest Destination Azkaban.'_

The hair had been coloured yellow and the facial features spelled and contorted but Harry would recognise Ron anywhere.

oOoOoOo

The cell was bare but for a small tin bucket in the corner and a pile of straw that acted as a bed. Ron could only guess the use of the bucket. Large jagged rocks made up the walls, ceiling and floor. There were no windows and the cell was lit through the cracks in the rock through which blew icy blasts from the North Sea and leaked dim daylight. Opposite the outer wall was a large iron door with a small barred window, Ron had been thrown through this door chin first and landed on his front and his jaw made a sickening cracking sound on impact.

The door clanged shut behind him and Ron had heard the laughter of the Snatchers retreat into the distance as they stomped off with the elderly muggleborn they had caught shortly after Ron. Neville had been right; the Snatchers had brought him straight to Azkaban. When he had been caught at Bill and Fleur's wedding he had been Harry Potter's best friend and accomplice and worth a Ministry cell and daily interrogation by senior Death Eaters. Now he was a no name Hogwarts truant and thief and could afford to be left languishing in Azkaban until a trial date could be found.

Ron lifted himself into a sitting position and rubbed his jaw tenderly. It hurt painfully. He crawled over to the outer wall to look out but the cracks were too small to see anything. He could hear the brutal beating of the prison by the waves of the North Sea, it was a stormy night and the wind and rain too battered loudly thudding against the rock.

Ron shivered; they had searched him on arrival and taken his robes. In their place were grey prisoner robes with the number 456831 stitched on the back. The robes were thin cotton and Ron shivered bitterly in the cold castle.

He strained his ears for any other sound amongst the violent storm and battering sea but heard nothing. Quickly he reached up and grabbed the hairclip that was hidden within his blond locks. He gently placed the hairclip on the floor in front of him.

He shivered more as he hovered trembling hands over the hairclip. "Finite Incantatem" he whispered.

Nothing happened.

"Finite Incantatem" he repeated "Finite Incantatem...Finite Incantatem..._Finite Incantatem_."

Still nothing happened.

Ron tried not to panic. Carrying out basic wandless magic under Snape's watchful guidance in the comfort of Hogwarts was always going to be easier than doing so in Azkaban.

Frustrated he tried the spell several more times but nothing happened, the hairclip did not even twitch. "Please" he whispered desperately thinking of Luna cold and alone somewhere in these dark walls.

An icy draft swept into the cell from the corridor outside that froze the blood in his veins and slowed the beat in his heart. "No, no" He whimpered "Finite Incantatem…Finite Incantatem"

Dumbledore was carrying the lifeless limp body of an eleven year old Harry into the Hospital wing.

"Finite Incantatem"

Hermione was being circled in an unknown cell somewhere by Crabbe, the Lestranges and other Death Eaters

"_Finite Incantatem" _His vision was going foggy and his voice sounded muffled to his ears.

His family were running from the Ministry, running, hiding and scared.

"_Finite Incantatem"_ He whispered.

A dark shadow floated passed his cell and the last image Ron remembered before he collapsed was that of Luna – cold, alone and helpless in a cell like his.

oOoOoOo

It was late before Rita went to bed. She sat in the sitting room with Hermione dictating articles to a typewriter that clicked and clacked as it typed the words independently. Each article was more vile than the last; further murmurs of Dumbledore's dark magic, rumours of goblins eating their young and whisperings that Tom the landlord of the Leaky Cauldron was harbouring muggleborns in his cellar which if true could spell death for all involved.

Hermione watched her with disgust "How can you not be sick at being forbidden to criticise the Ministry?" she asked suddenly at one point when she could take it no more.

Rita's eyes flashed and for a moment Hermione wondered if she had struck a nerve. The woman merely gave a sugary smile however but there was something hollow in her voice when she replied "I enjoy a challenge."

Eventually she went to bed and Hermione stayed tied to the chair in the middle of the sitting room in darkness. The only light came from the orange streetlamps outside that leaked into the room through a crack in the curtains.

Hermione watched the ticking clock on the mantelpiece squinting to make out the time. She waited almost forty minutes until it was two o'clock in the morning and then began.

Slowly she pressed her bound feet down into the carpet and carefully leaned forward moved the rest of her body upwards. It was difficult to do and her body strained against the tight ropes that cut into her but eventually she was able to lift the chair a fraction of a centimetre off the floor so she was only balancing on her feet.

She froze in the awkward position and listened to the silence of the ticking clock and her rapidly thudding heart. The street outside was quiet. She swung the chair back down onto the carpet hesitantly shutting her eyes tightly at the anticipated noise. The carpet muffled most of the sound of the chair legs landing on the floor but there was a definite 'pft' noise. Hermione winced, her eyes darted to the door to Rita's bedroom and she waited for several heart stopping minutes but nothing happened. Rita was asleep.

Hermione exhaled in relief. She had moved forward barely an inch but it was something.

The clock continued ticking quietly as outside a lone car passed by. Hermione pressed down with her feet and swung the chair forwards again. Again and again she slowly edged forward.

It was painstaking work, every time she lift the chair the ropes binding her to it would strain cutting into her skin.

Little by little she moved across the sitting room and into the kitchen. Like the other room it was mostly muggle with an oven, a fridge and even a washing machine. Rita couldn't have been muggleborn but she must be at least half blood Hermione reasoned.

Quickly she looked around for a knife but found none, she tried to open one of the kitchen drawers with her mouth but they were too stiff and would not budge.

Hermione gave a huff of frustration, every moment she was tied here was another Ron was trapped in Azkaban and Malfoy was…she didn't really want to think of where Malfoy was right now. It was then that a mad idea occurred to her. It was insane. It was reckless. It was something Harry or Ron or Malfoy would come up with. It just might work.

Hermione strained her ears for the sound of any movement coming from the direction of Rita's bedroom but heard nothing. Slowly she shuffled herself and the chair towards the oven and very carefully she leaned forward. Her nose pressed against one of the buttons on top of the oven and she heard a click. Bright blue flames burst out from one of the hobs bathing the kitchen in cool navy blue light.

She then shuffled herself to the kitchen table where an old rolled up copy of _The Daily Prophet_ lay. Hermione bent forward and circled the end of it with her mouth so that she could pick it up with her teeth.

This really was a very stupid idea she thought as she hovered the paper over the blue flames of the oven hob. The flames jumped onto the end of the paper and there was a quiet crackling noise as it burnt. Hermione clenched her teeth tighter keeping a firm hold on the paper and winced at what was to come. She fought to keep her eyes open as she lowered her head, the heat of the burning paper floated upwards causing her face to prickle with discomfort and trembling she brought the burning paper to the tight ropes around her middle that bound her to the chair.

The heat drifting upwards began to hurt her face and as soon as the ropes around her middle caught fire she flung away the paper to the other side of the room. Her cheeks felt relief but her stomach did not and as the ropes burned she felt a scorching pain as flames licked against her skin.

"_Agh_!" Hermione screamed in pain wriggling to get free. She clenched her eyes so tightly shut that tears began to leak out and wriggled more as the fire burnt onto her skin "_Ugh_!"

The ropes snapped and Hermione flung them off of her uncoiling those around her hands and feet as she did do. She was free. She wrenched off her burning shirt and threw it across the room and then ran to the sink. The taps gushed lovely cool wet water that she scooped up and chucked onto her side drenching the half burnt vest she had worn underneath the shirt.

The air shifted around her and the shadows on the wall in front of her moved. Hermione span on the spot. Rita Skeeter was standing in the doorway. Her golden hair was in curlers and red glasses were perched on her nose – she looked old and drawn without make-up. She wore a green silk dressing gown and a livid expression.

"_Stupefy!_" She cried.

Hermione ducked and the red stunning spell shot over her head smashing the glass of the kitchen window. Hermione grabbed the handle of a saucepan, which was the closest thing to her and chucked it at Rita with all her might.

The foul journalist dodged it but it gave Hermione enough time to run at forward. Straight at Rita she charged and before Rita could point it and utter another spell Hermione had both hands on the wand.

The pair of them wrestled over the piece of wood and sparks of unknown spells shot out of the end bouncing of the walls and the cupboards. A fiery hole was blast into the fridge and one of the chairs transformed into a pot of begonias.

Hermione didn't know if she was stronger or just more desperate but somehow she wrenched the wand away. There was pause. Both women stood there panting as the air buzzed with tension around them. Rita looked at Hermione and a triumphant gleam grew in her eyes. Hermione knew what she was going to do a second before she did it and she was ready.

Rita shrunk before her into nothingness.

_"__Stupefy!"_ Hermione shot into the empty kitchen air.

Then calmly she turned and began to search through Rita's kitchen cabinets until she found a large empty jam jar and pulled her beaded bag from the inside of her sock. Hermione scooped up the unconscious beetle with spectacle shaped markings into the jar and screwed the lid shut. She placed protective charms on it to stop Rita transforming again when she woke and was good enough to create at least two air holes before she stuffed the jam jar into the dark recesses of her beaded bag.

.

The snow crunched beneath Hermione's boots as she walked through Uffmoor Forest. It was still dark and she guided her way through large trees and thick undergrowth by blue wand light. Every now and then a bramble would snag at the cloak she had put on she would be forced to stop and unhook it.

The elation and triumph she had felt from capturing Rita Skeeter and the Horcrux had long since worn away. Now she felt cold and tired and pathetic. Even if Malfoy had escaped there was no way he would be waiting for her in the middle of a cold forest in winter without supplies – not for an entire night.

She felt stupid; she should have just gone back to the Den to Remus, Tonks and Sirius. She should be with the Weasleys trying to work out a way to rescue Ron from Azkaban.

There was the sound of a twig breaking ahead of her. Hermione's head snapped up. There through the trees the moonlight danced off the pale white blond hair and trembling blue skin of Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy" She whispered in wonder.

He stared back at her, mouth agog. He was still wearing Bagman's clothes and looked freezing.

She ignored her tired legs and sore abdomen and lifted herself through the heavy snow hurriedly in an effort to reach him.

Malfoy remained stock still just staring at her with dark eyes and his mouth half open in surprise. Hermione felt strangely nervous when she reached him. Up close she realised he wasn't so much trembling as shaking with cold.

"Oh you must be freezing" she whispered, she didn't know why she was whispering there was no one else around. "Here, let me…"

She reached for her beaded bag, intent on getting him something warmer to wear but suddenly there were hands on her shoulders and Malfoy was pulling her to him. Hermione barely had time to register what was going on before he bent down and pressed his lips to hers. Hermione wrapped her arms round his neck and kissed him back.

They stood there in the snow for what felt like a long time not moving much; just kissing and holding each other.

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story so far - all criticism welcome**


	24. The Plans of Hermione Granger

They erected the tent shortly before the sun rose. Hermione sat on one of the camp beds surrounded by jars of bluebell flames rubbing burn healing paste to her burnt side. The red raw scarred skin rippled until it was smooth and unblemished and the pain eased. Hermione thanked Merlin for magic.

Meanwhile Malfoy pottered about in the kitchen area.

"Here" he said passing her a bowl of baked beans and sat down on the bed bedside her.

"Thank you" she said quietly smiling, the beans were cold – they hadn't been cooked properly but she was appreciated the effort. Malfoy was looking at the burnt frayed edges of her vest; suddenly he traced a cold finger across her healed exposed skin. Hermione flinched at the touch and Malfoy snatched his finger away.

"Sorry" he muttered.

"No…its ok" Hermione replied and she held his hand rubbing it between her own to try and warm it up "You should have made one of those earlier in the forest." She chided nodding towards one of the jars of bluebell flames. Her hands tingled. "You could have transfigured something into a jar."

Malfoy shrugged "I didn't want to attract attention."

"How long were you out there?" Hermione asked.

"Not long." He said avoiding her eye.

"Oh" Hermione said trying not to smile.

"Why didn't you heal yourself before trudging through the snow?" Malfoy countered.

Hermione likewise shrugged "Didn't want to attract attention."

Malfoy smirked and pressed his lips to hers again. It felt warm and nice; the skin on Hermione's arm prickled as she ran her hands through his hair and kissed him back.

Suddenly Hermione jerked back, something had just occurred to her "What happened to Ragnok?"

Malfoy frowned in confusion before chuckling "I modified his memory. He now has a great desire to go bird watching on the west coast of Spain. Don't panic; Gringotts won't be hearing from him anytime soon."

He nodded to the jar in front of them, the only jar that was not filled with bluebell flames but with a beetle, a twig and some leaves. "What do we do with her?"

She gave a heavy sigh.

"We'll have to keep her. I'd rather not but she knows I was part of the break in at Gringotts" Hermione said "That information can't get back to You Know Who. As it is the goblins will just assume Bagman was trying to get access to his vault without paying his debts."

"You aren't worried about giving her the scoop of the century?" Malfoy asked

"No, I put enough shielding charms on it. She can't see or hear anything."

"Good" Malfoy smirked and kissed her again.

.

"This is beyond ridiculous" Malfoy hissed in her ear as they walked through Diagon Alley the next day "This is downright dangerous!"

"Stop looking so worried." Hermione snapped back. "We're supposed to be going to a joke shop."

It was a little after noon and the normally bustling alley was once again more or less deserted. A scant few shoppers rushing from shop to shop and the pitiful beggars that languished in doorways hung an air of despair over the street.

Hermione and Malfoy were once again in disguise as they hurried towards Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Hermione had hated to use Mad-Eye's polyjuice potion again, there was not much left but she couldn't think of any other way to get back to the Order.

"We should have gone to the Den" Malfoy hissed as the joke shop door opened with a jangle of its bell.

"If you think you can find it, be my guest" Hermione whispered back. It was one thing for Sirius who had visited the Den many times previously to sniff out its rough location when transformed as a dog but she and Malfoy would have had no chance.

They busied themselves pretending to look at a display of Self Propelling Custard Pies whilst Hermione surreptitiously looked around the shop over Malfoy's shoulder. It wasn't busy by any means but there were certainly more people here than in the rest of Diagon Alley. Several of them seemed to be Hogwarts students and noticing the rather limp looking Christmas tree in the shop windows Hermione realised it must be the Christmas holidays.

"Are they there?" Malfoy asked impatiently.

"Yes" Hermione replied. Well Alicia Spinnet wasn't but Angelina Johnson was there serving a father and his five year old son a portable swamp at the till. "Come on" She said grabbing the nearest custard pie and heading for the shop till.

Angelina was sharing the till with another saleswitch Hermione recognised from the last time she came in here – she thought her name was Verity. Hermione positioned them so that they would be served by Angelina and the two twelve year olds approaching the register would be served by Verity.

"Welcome to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. We're here to make your Christmas goes with a bang." Angelina announced in a rather lacklustre manner, she seemed tired and more drawn than when Hermione had seen her last "Can I get that gift wrapped for you madam?"

She nodded to the custard pie Hermione was holding "Oh yes" Hermione replied "It's for our friend."

Angelina nodded not really paying attention as she pulled out some shiny red and green wrapping paper from behind the counter.

"He's always pulling tricks" Hermione continued "Once he enchanted a car to make it fly." Angelina paused but kept her eyes focused on the wrapping paper. Hermione darted a quick look to Verity to check she was occupied and continued speaking almost silently under her breath "He loves jokes so much he once told us 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good.'"

Slowly Angelina raised her head and she looked at Hermione and Draco properly for the first time. "Now that I recall this model is defective" She said "We might have some others in the back. Verity, please cover the counter."

Angelina tipped her head and Hermione and Draco followed her through the door behind the counter into an overflowing storeroom crowded with tightly packed shelves and bulging boxes. Angelina carefully shut the door poking her head out to check they hadn't been followed.

"What's going on, I thought you wouldn't be back until Saturday?" She asked quickly "Did everything go ok with the merpeople? Where did you get the polyjuice potion from?"

Hermione and Draco looked at each other unsure of how to answer. Angelina seemed to realise her mistake for she narrowed her eyes and drew her wand.

"No wait" Hermione put up her hand "It's me Hermione."

"Hermione?" Angelina frowned studying the middle aged muggle into which Hermione had polyjuiced.

"And this is Draco Malfoy" Hermione gestured to the wizard next to her "Um…" She tried to think of something only the real Hermione would know "Oh… you lent me your lipstick for the Yule Ball but told me not to tell anyone because you didn't want Fred and George finding out you owned a lipstick called _Fruity Fuchsia_"

Angelina's suspicious frown slowly transformed into a grin and she rushed forward to hug Hermione "Oh you're back, we've been so worried" She said with a big sisterly air and directing her suspicious gaze onto Malfoy instead.

Hermione hugged her back and asked whether she could take them to Fred and George.

"Of course, they're just upstairs. Do you think they'd let us look after Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes unsupervised?" Angelina snorted leading them out of the storeroom and up a narrow staircase. As they went Angelina explained that she had thought they were Alicia and Lee Jordan who were apparently on some mission for the Order involving merpeople "Although don't ask me what it is because we haven't been able to get a thing out of them."

"I thought all the Weasleys were in hiding?" Hermione asked when Angelina let them into the flat upstairs.

"They are" Angelina said taking them through a very messy living room to the bathroom "Come on."

She stood in front of the floor length mirror in the bathroom and tapped it three times with her wand "Knock Knock" she said.

The mirror rippled to life "Who's there?" It asked.

"A herd" Out of the corner of her eye Hermione noticed that Malfoy had transformed back into his normal self. She looked down at her hands and saw they were those of an eighteen year old girl again rather than a forty five year old woman. They were really running alarmingly low of polyjuice potion.

"A herd of what?"

Angelina rolled her eyes and replied "A herd you were home so I came over."

The mirror cackled with laughter and rippled further so it appeared to have taken on the same consistency as water; Angelina stepped through it and Hermione and Draco followed.

As soon as she reached the other side she started coughing, they had stepped into thick grey smoke that clouded the room and smelled of rotten fish.

"What's going on?" Angelina spluttered.

"Sorry, added too many Doxy eggs" Fred's voice came from somewhere "_Evanesco!_"

Instantly the room cleared of smoke and Hermione saw they were in what looked like a laboratory with a long wooden table that strained under several bubbling cauldrons which contained liquids on different consistencies and colours; all were emitting rather distinct odours. The Weasley twins stood over one large pewter cauldron in the middle with rather singed clothing that looked like it too had caught on fire.

"Hermione!" George grinned and he and Fred rushed over to pick her up and spin her around in greeting. Hermione grinned greeting them back.

Malfoy coughed pointedly and they lowered her to the floor. "Malfoy" Fred said seriously offering a hand to the blond wizard.

Malfoy looked at it suspiciously for few seconds before tentatively shaking it. When he drew his hand away however it was covered in a thick gooey green slime.

"Grand Greetings Gloop" Fred announced holding up his hand to reveal a small green box attached to the palm.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the immaturity of it.

"A fun way to liven up any awkward social encounter whether it be with stuffy great aunts or former Death Eaters" George continued

"I miss the werewolf" Draco muttered as he attempted to rub the slime off only for it to expand and start sticking to the other hand.

oOoOoOo

The sky rumbled with dark grey and purple masses threatening to break loose on the North Sea at any moment. A light dusting of snowflakes floated intermittently to the deck of _The Floating Cavalier_ but weeks on the run had taught Harry when a storm was approaching.

He had steered the boat out of Hull harbour with no small difficulty. With Aunt Marge and Colonel Fubster back on shore he permitted himself to use a small amount of magic but it was still gruelling and backbreaking work to handle the forty foot sail boat on his own. When he was further out of sight of land Harry began to use magic more liberally to move the sails and propel the boat forward.

The sea around him was a dark murky grey that played with the large solid boat in its rough waves as if were merely one of those delicate snowflakes. Harry thought back to Aunt Marge and Colonel Fubster and how warm it had been eating dinner together in the inn in Hull. A cosy open fire had flickered across the plush dining room as they ate tasty roast dinners on comfortable padded chairs under paintings of the picturesque Yorkshire Dales in summer. Harry's fingers felt numb under his scratchy gloves as he mopped off excess seawater from the deck. He breathed out icy clouds.

He remembered Marge and Fubster's smiling faces as they joked and heard their laughs as he excused himself to go to the bathroom. They hadn't noticed when he walked out the door of the inn. Harry had thought about modifying their memories to make the abandonment easier but he had only ever used the _Oblivius_ spell before on Umbridge and was scared of doing damage to the minds of people he actually liked. He hoped Marge would understand that he had done it to protect them; he knew she would know to stay on the run with Fubster. He only hoped he could see them once again when this was all over.

Sea spray on the boom had frozen over into iced fragments. Harry squinted into the distance; he turned and then squinted again. In every direction there was nothing but a plateau of choppy grey sea. He was truly out of sight of land now.

Harry took a deep breath and called out in a clear crisp voice "Kreacher!"

_Crack!_ The air split open and a grizzled wrinkled house elf appeared on deck. Kreacher looked around with wide eyed awe and alarm at the wooden ship and rolling waves for miles around. Harry wondered whether he had ever seen the sea quite like this before. Harry felt guilty as the house elf in his dirty loin cloth began to shiver violently in the cold biting wind. Harry rushed to cover the creature with a spare bit of tarpaulin.

"Master!" Kreacher croaked with surprise "Master is alive?"

"Just about" Harry gave a wry smile "You're alive as well."

"Kreacher obeyed Master" Kreacher said loyally, he was still trembling but not as horribly as before. He added with a tone that was almost sinister "Kreacher protected himself. Kreacher protected his mistress's house."

"Well done." Harry said

"Master should not be here. It is too cold for master. Too dangerous. He could be seen." Kreacher lectured.

Harry raised an eyebrow as if to ask whether Kreacher regularly heard of Death Eaters out sailing in the North Sea.

"Master should be hiding on the continent." Kreacher continued stubbornly.

"Maybe later" Harry said "Kreacher I need to ask you a question. Did Mrs Black ever visit Azkaban?"

Kreacher looked at him suspiciously, as if he knew what Harry was up to. He was bound to answer nevertheless "My mistress is visiting Miss Bella twice on the bad wizards' island. My mistress went when they first put poor Miss Bella in chains to comfort her. Then my mistress went when Miss Bella's mother Mistress Druella died."

Harry nodded. He had figured the Blacks would have enough gold, status and motivation to get permission to visit Azkaban at least once. He was also not surprised that Mrs Black had chosen to use those rare instances to visit Bellatrix Lestrange rather than her own son.

"And how did she get there Kreacher?" Harry asked almost innocently.

Kreacher narrowed his large yellow and bloodied eyes angrily "Master cannot Apparate there." The house elf snapped instantly "Mistress is Apparating to a cliff and then taking a special boat with Ministry wizard. Azkaban protected by strong wizard wards. No wizard can Apparate there."

"And what about house elves?" Harry asked wryly.

"No, No, Kreacher will not do it." Kreacher cried "It's too dangerous."

"For you?" Harry scoffed and tried to flatter the elf "For Kreacher who broke You Know Who's own wards. Don't tell me Azkaban's are too much for you."

"No! No!" Kreacher shouted stamping his foot and looking very much like a bizarre ugly wrinkled child having a tantrum "Kreacher will not do it. Master will die and Kreacher will be left to the muggles."

Harry frowned; it had never occurred to him what would happen to Kreacher if he died. He had never thought about making a will simply because he wasn't used to the idea of having something valuable to pass on. Legally though Aunt Petunia was his next of kin, Kreacher would belong to her if he died.

Harry felt guilty for not considering this earlier. He didn't have the time or the luxury of pondering on his guilt long however.

"I'll tell you what Kreacher, if you help me, I'll write a will to make sure you don't end up with the Dursleys if I die." Harry bargained "I'll leave you to...Tonks or somebody."

Kreacher scrunched up his face as if he had smelled something particularly horrid. "The werewolf's half-blood?"

Harry glared at him "Its Tonks or the Dursleys" He said "She's a Black and she's going to have a baby soon so she could use the help. And let's not forget that I could just order you to help me."

Kreacher scowled and then as if it took him great effort to say "Would Master like me to Apparate him to Azkaban?"

"No" Harry said confidently resting his hands on the bough "I want to Apparate this ship."

Kreacher's worn eyes popped out so far Harry was almost surprised they did not pop out.

oOoOoOo

A long silence lingered over the hidden section of the Weasley twins flat. One wondered if it had ever been so quiet within the immediate vicinity of a conscious Fred and George. There was an awkward scrape of metal on china as Malfoy ate his dinner quietly.

Hermione ignored the rapidly cooling pasta and tuna bake that she had balanced on the uneven laboratory table to eat. It was just like Fred and George to work with dangerous elixirs and unstable substances on a wonky service.

Eventually she broke the silence "You can't just do nothing." She bit out angrily "He's your brother."

"We know who he is Hermione." Fred said coldly "He was our brother before he was your friend or whatever is it you two are."

Hermione bristled. Malfoy stopped pretending to be interested in his food and looked up to watch the ensuing argument.

Angelina shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"We not doing nothing." George added "We were the first to sign up to the Order's plan."

"In January" Hermione accused "You're going to rescue him in January..."

"It's the best opportunity to..." George started.

"Ron won't last six weeks in Azkaban. You know he won't." Hermione said coldly.

"He's stronger than you give him credit for." George argued.

"And that's a good enough excuse to leave him to the dementors for over a month." Hermione snapped angrily.

There was a loud BANG! Fred had brought his fist down so hard on the table that it made Hermione jump and the plates clatter.

"No!" He shouted "It's not! But you tell us how we're supposed to get in there Hermione. I'm all ears." Hermione was surprised to see that he looked genuinely distressed. "You tell us how to get into the impregnable fortress of Azkaban and we'll go tonight to rescue Ron."

Hermione was not called the smartest witch of her age for being occasionally short of an answer. "Sirius escaped. If he can get out he can get back in."

"Kingsley said they put up wards against animals moving in and out of the prison when it was made public that's how Sirius escaped." Fred explained "Let's face it most animagi aren't exactly registered or moral citizens."

Apparition was out. Portkey was out.

Hermione opened her mouth to speak...

"We considered using your taboo cancelling out the jinxes trick" George pre-empted her "But it's unlikely there'd be enough time to even find Ron let alone rescue him before the Snatchers turned up."

"They wouldn't send Snatchers to a taboo breaking at Azkaban." Malfoy said, speaking for the first time "The Death Eaters would go themselves for that."

Hermione shot Malfoy and irritated look, he met her gaze unrepentant. Fred leaned back with a 'there you go' gesture.

Angelina got up to clear the plates.

"Hermione it's too risky to rescue him in Azkaban" George explained "Our best shot at get him when he comes to the Ministry for his trial at the end of January."

"So that's it, you're just giving up" Hermione protested "What if someone recognises him. Rita did."

"Rita's not likely to say anything in there." Angelina said quietly nodding to the shelves where resting amongst potion ingredients the beetle Skeeter nibbled at leaves in her shielded jam jar.

"What do you want us to do Hermione?" George asked patiently "You don't think we're thinking the same things as you. Tell us how to rescue him now and we will."

There was even a faint note of pleading in his voice which suggested even though he knew he asked for the impossible he still wanted some false hope.

"I..." Hermione stuttered growing frustrated and she huffed standing up. Fred and George had been her only hope. Who else would help her with a task so reckless and foolish?

"I thought you were the Weasley twins" she said cuttingly before taking her plate through the mirror to the kitchen.

.

Malfoy came through the mirror later that evening. Hermione was sitting at Fred and George's kitchen table with several heavy textbooks laid open. Angelina had gone home.

"You shouldn't be out here" Malfoy said behind her "The Ministry could turn up any second. The court jesters have transfigured a couple of camp beds in their laboratory."

"There's not enough space to work back there." Hermione said. She was tired.

Malfoy gave a frustrated puff of air but chose not to argue that particular point. "Do you really think you're going to find a way to break into Azkaban in one of those?"

"I found a way to break into Gringotts." Hermione replied still not looking up from _The Standard Book of Spells Grade VII_.

"Yeah well people are actually allowed to get within five feet of that place" Malfoy scoffed derisively.

"People go to Azkaban." Hermione argued back "Ministry officials, Fudge went when he was Minister...the Crouches..."

"So what you're going to polyjuice yourself into a high ranking Ministry official then?" Malfoy mocked "We've barely got any polyjuice left and how do you expect to get any of their hair. I'll wager it's a lot harder to nick hair from a Ministry bigwig than Bagman especially as most of them are Death Eaters. If you think I'm going to let you go up to some Death Eater and..."

"Let me?" Hermione exclaimed indignantly "You think just because we...Listen you can forget whatever pureblood notions of archaic chivalry that Sirius or your parents put in your head because what I do is not up to you."

"Oh I already get that." Malfoy laughed "You think it was my idea to get chased by goblins or starve in the middle of winter in a forest or almost get killed by Bellatrix. You've been running this from the beginning but I thought it was to defeat _him_, to stop _this war_. Are you really going to throw that away for your peasant lover boy?"

"He is not my lover boy" Hermione said through gritted teeth. Malfoy snorted "And it's not an either or situation."

"Wake up Granger!" Malfoy snapped "This whole thing stinks. Weasley vanishes from a highly guarded Ministry cell and then nobody hears of him for months, not Death Eaters and not the Order. Now all of a sudden he pops back up in Knockturn Alley in a really bad disguise and is getting himself chucked in Azkaban. It's got trap written all over it."

"That doesn't matter. If Ron is in Azkaban..."

"Are you even listening? Who says it even is Weasley? Weasley's probably dead by now. Yaxley and Runcorn..."

_Smack!_ Hermione had cut Malfoy off by slapping him. Maybe she wouldn't have hit him if she didn't believe a little that what he said might be true. Were it anyone but Harry or Ron, Hermione would have assumed the most logical explanation weeks ago. Ron had been accidentally killed by Yaxley and Runcorn who had then tried to cover it up. But after everything that had happened, she still wasn't ready to hear it out loud.

"It's not a coincidence that his photo ended up in _The Evening Prophet_." Malfoy said coldly glaring at her.

Hermione sighed and sat back down at the kitchen table. She rested her head in her hand and said dispassionately "Lots of arrests end up in _The Prophet_."

Malfoy stood there for a few more moments radiating anger and frustration.

"Fine." He finally sneered "Get yourself killed. See if I care."

Hermione felt strangely bereft at his departure but also annoyed that he didn't seem to understand. This was Ron, if there was even a chance that he or Harry was in danger she had to do something. It didn't matter that it was probably a trap.

She looked through _Moste Potente Potions_, _The Dark Arts Outsmarted_ and several tomes she had taken from the restricted section of Hogwarts Library without finding anything that could even help her locate Azkaban let alone rescue someone from it.

Hermione huffed with frustration. She was running out of books but didn't want to go back behind the mirror and admit this to Malfoy, Fred and George. Determinedly she stuck her arm down into the recesses of her beaded bag to see if there were any more volumes that had not been caught by her summoning charm.

The clock over the sink ticked past one o'clock. The candle that lit her work was getting smaller as it grew more misshapen with dribbled lumpy wax.

Inside the bag Hermione's fingertips brushed over the rough fibres of the rolled up tent, the cool surface of her cauldron and something small, metallic and engraved. Hermione frowned and pulled the strange object out.

It was Dumbledore's silver Deluminator that was shaped like a delicate engraved cigarette lighter and been left to Ron in the Headmaster's will. Hermione examined the object, opening and closing it. The flame of the candle was sucked away plunging the kitchen into darkness and then with another click it reappeared.

Ron had given this to her the last time she had seen him. At Bill and Fleur's wedding when she thought he was going to kiss her. That seemed like such a long time ago...before Malfoy.

They never had really worked out what it had done. Curious, she blew out the candle and the kitchen plunged into darkness. It was quiet and still, she couldn't even hear Malfoy or the Weasley twins' inevitable snores from the hidden flat next door.

She flicked open the Deluminator and a bright blue orb of light floated out and hung eerily in the air a few feet over the kitchen table. It cast a spectral light over the worn textbooks that laid open there.

Hermione sat back and tried to think of a way to rescue Ron from Azkaban.

oOoOoOo

It took them hours. Kreacher had first insisted Harry write his will as "Master is sure to die soon the way Master is going."

They sat beneath deck, which was still cold but at least sheltered from the wind and sleet, and drew up the magical contract. Kreacher knew a surprising amount about magical wills which Harry supposed came from living a long time around very rich paranoid witches and wizards. The house elf instructed Harry on the correct wording and which charms to use to make it binding.

As well as leaving Kreacher to Tonks, Harry asked that his Gringotts vault be split between Ron and Hermione. He knew from past experience that on death all wills had to be inspected by the Ministry and so it seemed unlikely that any of these bequests would be followed through. Even if he was not Undesirable No. 1, Tonks, Ron and Hermione were all wanted by the Ministry themselves.

Kreacher didn't seem to know that or at least he didn't seem to care. From all that Harry had observed of Kreacher, the house elf only cared if his own slightly skewed interpretation of order and justice was followed and took very little interest in wizard's laws.

Harry paused when he tried to decide what to do with Number 12 Grimmauld Place. In the back of his mind he remembered that fleeting hope that came from the vision he had had on Aunt Marge's village green...that Sirius might be alive.

If Sirius was alive then Grimmauld Place wasn't even Harry's to hand out. Harry told himself not to be stupid. He had very deliberately not let himself think about Sirius or Ginny as it hurt too much to do so. He wrote that Remus and Tonks should get Grimmauld Place - they would need it with the new baby - and signed the parchment.

He left all his personal possessions and a large sum of gold to Ginny. He thought she would like the Firebolt the best.

Kreacher looked satisfied as he rolled up the document and stuck it behind a large hairy drooping ear.

If Harry had time to think about what he had just done he might have felt unnerved at the morbidity but he did not. Instead the sun was rapidly setting and he and Kreacher had no clear idea of where Azkaban actually was.

Kreacher had a rough idea based on what he had heard from Mistress and Miss Bella and so that's where they started Apparating.

It took great effort for Kreacher to Apparate himself, Harry and the boat to each new location on Colonel Fubster's old maps. Harry began to worry he was asking too much of the old house elf who had started to tremble even more insistently. He couldn't think of how else to do it though, if they Apparated by themselves they would surely drown in the rough winter seas.

The boat smacked the surface violently each time they Apparated and shoots of salt water burst up onto deck and sprayed them both. The sun set and they carried long into the night lit by jars of bluebell flame that Harry fixed to bits of the rigging and tied to the bough.

Harry began to despair that they would ever find Azkaban and was about to suggest they call it a night when:

"Master, Master!" Kreacher called "The Island!"

Harry squinted, he was right. What Harry had thought was a mass of black seas and sky when he had looked half a second was slowly transforming into something else as they drifted closer. Large jagged rocks cut out of the sea at awkward angles and a towering dark castle loomed overhead.

There were no windows that Harry could make out in the darkness and he felt the prickling iciness that came from being into proximity to dementors.

Harry steered them closer just to make sure they were beyond the wards. Then he transfigured the anchor into something longer and stronger and threw it of the side of the boat holding it in place. He took of his coat and put his wand between his teeth.

"What is Master doing?" Kreacher asked and there was almost an air of anxiety in the grouchy house elf's tone.

"If the dementors approach the boat I want you to Disapparate back to the mainland." Harry said taking of his shoes and socks.

"Master...No" Kreacher protested "Kreacher can move the muggle boat closer."

"That's an order Kreacher." Harry said firmly and climbed up onto the bough. His stomach flipped as he looked down at the icy deep sea below. He turned back to the house elf. "If the time comes, leave me and save yourself."

And with that he dived of _The Flying Cavalier_ and into the depths of the North Sea.

oOoOoOo

The translucent skin of the pale shivering girl shuddered every now and then. Her wild dirty blond hair was hard and lumpy with dried blood.

Ron tried to reach out to her, he tried to lift one lone arm up - she was only a few feet away. The arm was too heavy and flopped back down.

"Luna" he whispered in a scratchy voice.

The iciness of Azkaban had sucked all of his strength; he could not even speak properly.

A few away Luna's body suddenly shuddered as she convulsed and a disturbing gurgling noise came from her throat.

"Luna" Ron whispered again. He dragged himself along the stone flags, clawing his way each by inch. He was terrified he would reach her to find her no more.

He strained out one hand to reach her slender neck but felt nothing. She was gone; it had been an illusion, a torment of the dementors.

He had already seen his father attacked by Nagini and this was worse. Luna was somewhere here in Azkaban, what he was seeing could be the truth. She could be just a few cells away dying.

The air around him grew sharply colder and a heavy weight strained on his chest. A dementor had passed his cell. He didn't notice them leaving but he certainly felt them arrive.

He felt too sad to cry. It felt as if all the happiness had be sucked from the world. Ron could not remember colour or laughter; he was struggling to remember faces.

He gave a dark laugh, if only Harry and Hermione could see him now. He had always been the weak one. They had always been able to rescue themselves but they couldn't rescue him now - they didn't even know where he was.

He thought of laughing with Harry but the happy memory was pulled from his mind with the vicious and pain of a hundred knives stabbing.

He thought of Hermione running away with Malfoy. It wasn't a happy thought or a particularly sad one, it was just strange. It made perfect sense and yet no sense at all.

He hoped she was happy. "Hermione." He whispered just to hear the sound of her name.

oOoOoOo

Hermione blinked and sat upright. She thought she had just heard Ron calling her name.

She looked around at the darkened kitchen. The light from the blue orb flickered over the kitchen clock showing it was approaching midnight. She must have nodded off and started dreaming. Either that or she had started going mad.

Hermione shook it off and pulled one of her most dusty books towards her. She bent her head and began to focus more fixedly on Hindicup's Ward Theory.

"_Hermione_"

Hermione's head snapped back up. There was no mistaking it this time. Ron's voice, sounding strained and weakened, had clearly come from the blue orb of light floating above the kitchen table.

Hermione stood up to get a better look at it. "I must be going mad" She muttered to herself and glanced around to see if any talking white rabbits were about to appear.

The orb itself seemed to be getting bigger and brighter. It was strangely beautiful and Hermione felt herself drawn to it. Curious she reached out an arm and with a lone hesitant finger grazed the outside of the orb. She didn't feel anything, her finger just turned blue in the light. She suddenly had an overwhelming urge to pick up her wand and beaded bag and did so without any thought as to why.

The orb was moving towards her. Hermione stood transfixed as it got closer and closer to her chest and then starting moving into her body. Hermione barely had time to comprehend what was happening before she felt sucking yanking motion of Disapparition.

_Crack!_

Cold icy breath encased as she fell knees first onto a hard stone floor. Hermione blinked rapidly trying to take in her surroundings.

A dementor loomed outside a door with iron bars and Ron...Ron lay pale and shaking by her side.

.

**Thank you for all your kind reviews so far, they've made my day. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story so far - all criticism &amp; feedback welcome.**


	25. Night of the Dementors

The force of the waves threw him against the rocks battering his already bruised side. Harry shut his eyes at the pain and scratched and clawed at boulders dragging himself up slippery granite.

He felled several times and once plunged right back into the freezing depths of the North Sea. When he finally heaved himself onto the island he lay twisted and contorted on the rocks panting in relief. The surgical scar in his side throbbed painfully.

The smell hit him first, that putrid rotting stench of dementors that hung in the air and choked his throat. It could have only been made worse by a hundred prisoners locked up in their own filth.

A familiar coldness drifted over Harry as he pulled himself over the wet rocks and onto snow blanketed earth.

"_Expecto Patronum_" Harry gasped. A bright silver stag glided elegantly from the tip of his wand and proceeded to stand loyally by his prostrate side.

"Just...just a moment" Harry panted catching his breath and waiting for some strength to return to his limbs. He lay on the soft snow and stared up at the empty black sky. Even the stars and moon had hidden from the dementors.

His patronus had lit up the surrounding area in a swathe of ethereal silver light and Harry craned his neck looking around. He was in a graveyard.

The crumbling stones were not engraved and had been placed in the ground at awkward unaligned angles. Harry wondered if anyone had ever visited these graves, he wondered who dug them or if a dementor could even hold a spade. He thought morbidly of the centuries of dead prisoners who had died in misery and lay beneath him unmourned and forgotten.

Harry looked in the other direction and saw the looming spectre of the prison itself. Azkaban rose out of the rocks as a tall foreboding castle on the other side of the island. That was where Ron was.

Harry summoned all his strength and pushed himself to his knees before standing up.

He took a cursory glance around him. No dementors…yet.

"Come on" Harry whispered to his stag and cautiously they approached the prison.

oOoOoOo

"Ron!" Hermione cried in shock and dropped to her knees an instant. The poor enchantments that had disguised him in _The Evening Prophet_ had worn off and he lay there pale, freckled, red haired and...Ron.

"Oh wake up" Hermione urged him, shaking his shoulders.

His eyes were closed and he was breathing labouredly as though every gulp of air was a struggle.

"Ron wake up!" Hermione ordered him looking around nervously. They were no doubt in Azkaban; she could feel the chill of the dementors and hear the crashing of waves below. She pointed her wand at her friend "_Ennervate_."

Ron gasped and his eyes flickered open weakly "Hermione?" he asked in confusion, frowning slightly as if he couldn't quite make her out.

The air around them closed, a great icy wind shook Hermione's body and she felt hope begin to suck out of her body.

"Not now" She muttered determinedly and spun round to face the two dementors at the bars. "_Expecto Patronum!"_

A glittery silver otter danced out the tip of her wand and bathed the cell in warm silver light. The dementors drifted away but they would be back in greater numbers.

"Hermione...what are you doing here? Ron murmured "Are you real?"

_Are you real?_

Hermione whipped round and stuck her wand at his chest as she remembered Malfoy's words. "What did you get me for Christmas in our fifth year?"

"I don't know; some book probably" Ron said, he appeared to be getting much better in the presence of the otter patronus.

Hermione glared and raised her wand "Petri..."

"No wait! It was...it was...the perfume." Ron snapped his fingers in remembrance "I got you that perfume, which you never wore." He added.

"Of course not, it was ghastly." Hermione replied and hoisted his arm around her shoulders "Come on, we don't have long before they come back. One patronus won't protect us from all the dementors of Azkaban."

"Oh my wand." Ron said as if he had suddenly remembered.

"Ron I'm sure they took that..." She stared in consternation and Ron proceeded to drop to his knees and scrabble around in the dirt of his cell. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for my wand" Ron said as though it was obvious as he ran fingers through cracks in the otherwise bare floor. Hermione remembered what Malfoy said about people in Azkaban going mad. Ron had only been in a day though!

"Found it" Ron jumped to his feet as though he hadn't been at death's door not two minutes ago. He held in his outstretched grubby palm a dull yellow hairclip.

"Err Ron..." Hermione didn't quite know how to tell him.

Ron rolled his eyes at her expression "I'm not a complete idiot you know" he said grabbing her wand and pointing it at the hairclip "_Finite Incantartum_."

Hermione stared as the hairclip transformed into Ron's fourteen inch willow wand.

"See I did have a plan" Ron said almost defensively "Even if it did involve me being a bit better at wandless magic."

"Oh Ron" Hermione said fondly "You idiot!" And she threw her arms around him and hugged him for all he was worth.

Ron hugged her back for a few seconds before a familiar chill entered the cell again. "Err Hermione..." He started.

Hermione noticed it too and let him go. "Right" She said taking back her wand.

"_Expecto Patronum_" Ron said clearly releasing his terrier patronus to float alongside Hermione's otter.

They look at each other in silent comradeship and then Hermione pointed her wand at the cell door and shouted "_Confringo!"_

oOoOoOo

The snow on the pathway from the graveyard to the prison was deeply compacted by scores of footprints that went in both directions. Weeds were able to poke out of the hard white surface although they had gone muddy and limp from being stepped on so many times. Past the graveyard the path looked like it led to some sort of shabby dock. Either way Harry could make out the silhouette of wooden platform in the distance that looked as though it could be used for mooring boats.

Some of the footprints on the pathway were large and deep as if made by particularly heavy wizards. Every few feet he would encounter long uneven channels as though someone had been dragged along the way, their toes hoeing the snow. He wondered how many people were brought here during the day.

Azkaban fortress was enclosed by an imposing black wall which must have been over sixty foot high. The stonework looked dense, almost volcanic like which was strange for a building in Britain and did not ease Harry's nerves. Every few meters along the wall's face were slit like windows, only just wide enough to shoot a spell or an arrow from. Harry felt as if somebody was watching him from those slits. He had had the horrible feeling of eyes on him ever since he had stood up in the graveyard.

An enormous iron portcullis with spikes the size of Harry's waist guarded the entrance to the prison. Harry gulped as he approached it. Two dementors stood behind the iron bars on sentry duty. The flapping of their black cloaks in the night air was the only sound on the island apart from the quiet treads of Harry's footsteps.

Harry's hearted thudded as he got closer and closer. He had never thought himself stupid enough to walk up to a dementor. _Dementor's are blind. Ron's in there._

The dementors waited until he was only a few feet from the portcullis when they flew out of the tiny holes in the gate and straight at Harry with a suddenness that almost made him fall over. Harry's patronus cantered in front of him, it did not fight off the dementors as it normally would have done but just protected its master from the effects of their terrible beings.

The two guards floated in the air above Harry; the smell of rotting corpses wafting from them and echoing a sort of rattling sound. Harry felt the air suck in around him and although he did not hear it their presence brought back the memory of hearing his mother's screams, hearing her death.

"My…My name is John Dawlish" Harry shouted loudly. He knew dementors must understand English, they had communicated with Fudge after all and Fudge didn't seem like the type of wizard to learn a magical being's own language. "I have come from the Ministry. I am an auror"

The dementors hung in the air, their cloaks flapping and breath rattling. They made no other sign that they had heard or understood him.

Dementors are blind, he tried to reassure himself. Both Sirius and Barty Crouch Jr had told him that. Still he couldn't help but worry he was soon going to find out what a dementor's kiss was actually like.

"I need to question a prisoner urgently." Harry continued putting what he hoped into his voice was an air of authority and entitlement "I order you to grant entrance so I may conduct Ministry business."

There was a long pause and then a sudden swoosh as the dementors flew back towards the wall, through the portcullis and out of sight. Harry wondered if he had failed some sort of identity procedure, if they had gone to raise the alarm. His eyes darted around looking for movement and he began to fear that he should be running back to the sea, throwing himself into the depths away from a potential oncoming army of dementors.

A few seconds later there was a loud screeching noise and the portcullis was slowly raised.

oOoOoOo

The passageways of the prison were built like a dark labyrinth that they moved through slowly.

"Wait." Ron whispered pulling her back round the corner. They peered into the next passageway and saw a dementor floating past the cells. The dementors were blind so they could not see the silver light cast from the patronuses but they could sense the presence of humans.

"It's getting too close" Hermione whispered "It'll smell us. Come on." She tugged him back the way they had come. It felt like they had been wandering the prison for hours but had barely left the vicinity of Ron's cell. It was hard to tell however, all the corridors looked alike. The same long stone passageways shrouded in darkness and every few feet a doorway of iron bars that concealed prostrate prisoner either groaning and moaning in derangement or who had lost consciousness altogether. It seemed as if almost every passageway was guarded by at least one if not two dementors.

Hermione was beginning to worry that they were going round in circles when she noticed a small window blocked by a rusty grate at the end of a passageway. She left Ron, who kept peering into cells for some reason, and jogged towards the window. They were not that far up, she saw looking down at the foam as the waves crashed against the rocks below, only a couple of floors.

"If we could somehow get down…" She murmured to Ron who had joined her "There must be a boat somewhere on this island…but then how would we find our way to the mainland?"

She bit her lip thoughtfully and thought aloud"Maybe we don't have to. If we just drifted enough until we were past the wards then maybe we could Apparate…Ron?"

Ron was looking back down the corridor as though he was barely paying attention. For a startling moment Hermione feared he had spotted another dementor but he looked strange…almost mournful.

"Luna's in here." Ron said quietly staring off into the distance.

"Luna Lovegood?" Hermione asked as if she knew another Luna.

Ron nodded and he turned to her "It's my fault she's in here. She was helping me."

"So that's why you were in Knockturn Alley." Hermione said slowly as she began to understand "Why you transfigured your wand, you wanted to get caught."

"We have to get her out Hermione." Ron said and to Hermione's surprise there was a note of desperation in his voice "You saw what I was like after only a day. We can't leave her here."

"But…" Hermione spluttered, it seemed unconscionable to leave Luna at the mercy of the dementors but they were lucky enough not to have been caught as it was. To look for her now seemed almost suicidal "But…we don't know where she is. There must be over a hundred cells in this place, how are we supposed to find her?"

Ron thought for a while "There must be a way." He said "Maybe there's a record office or something. How did you find me?"

"Dumbledore." Hermione replied and then to answer his confused frown "It's a complicated story; I'll tell you later."

"Hermione?" Ron looked at her pleadingly. He almost looked as though he was ready to fall to his knees and beg and she was worried if he would even listen to her if she said 'no'.

"Oh..I don't…" Hermione bit her lip again in worry. The longer they stayed here the more certain it was they would be caught. Then she thought of Luna who had always been so strange, so small…she had always had a serenity and a smile.

They really couldn't leave her here.

"OK" She said decisively addressing Ron "If they do have a records office it will be on the ground floor where they bring in the prisoners. That makes the most sense logistically."

Ron grinned "You're brilliant." He said and off they went.

oOoOoOo

The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled with every step he took down the arched narrow corridors of Azkaban. There were no torches, no light but for the silver glow of his stag. The dementors at the entrance had been replaced by two new guards, one floated in front of him leading the way and the other behind. The dementor behind him kept creeping closer every now and then and sucking the air in around him before being pushed back by his patronus.

Harry had asked to be taken to the cell of the truant arrested in Knockturn Alley. He was not entirely sure whether the dementors believed his story or whether they were just drawing him deeper into their lair.

They passed silent cells of prisoners moaning in their sleep or convulsing on bare dirty floors next to buckets of their own filth. At one cell they passed a woman with brittle white hair, sallow skin and sunken eyes leapt up and clutched the iron bars desperately as Harry walked by.

"I confess" She screeched baring yellow crooked teeth "I confess."

Harry stumbled away from her wild expression and held his wand tighter as the rear dementor edged even closer. "_Expecto Patronum_" he whispered and his stag patronus brightened.

They approached a spiral staircase when something caught Harry's eye and he stopped dead. "Wait." He ordered and peered into a nearby cell.

Against the wall on a pile of straw a small witch with dirty blonde hair hugged her knees and rocked back and forth. Her skin was almost translucent and her skinny arms were almost swallowed by the large coarse prison robes. She blinked rapidly as Harry and the bright silver light of the patronus drew closer to her. Slowly she turned her head and revealed silvery grey eyes and a dazed expression.

"Luna." He whispered.

Luna frowned in puzzlement as if he was a clue she could not quite work out "Harry?"

Both dementors drifted closer to him. Harry drew himself up and said more bravely than he felt "Open the door." He said with false authority "I need to speak with her as well."

In an instant the dementors swept in on him rattling and piercing his veins with ice. Harry's patronus was ready for them though; his stag charged knocking both dementors down the corridor in different directions and encircling Harry with protective silver whispy vapours.

"Alohomora" Harry said pointing his wand at Luna's cell door but nothing happened "Stand back"

Luna scrambled to the corner furthest away from the door and brought her arms up to shield her head.

"_Confringo!_" Harry cried and the door exploded to dust and rubble. He darted into the cell and pulled Luna up from the floor.

"Can you cast a patronus?" He asked quickly.

"I…I'm not sure" Luna whispered, she seemed to be drawing strength from Harry's patronus but was still very weak.

"Try" Harry urged helping her over the rubble and out of the cell "We need to find Ron."

Luna who had been making silver whisps with his wand snapped her head up "Ronald is here?"

"Yes" Harry nodded "At least I think so…" If it wasn't all a trap and he confessed "I don't know where he is and all these corridors look alike"

Luna looked frightened for a moment but then she suddenly smiled and said "Maybe Dean will know."

oOoOoOo

Something odd that struck Hermione was how lifeless the corridors of Azkaban were. There were groans and screams in the cells of course but outside nothing. Not a rat, not a mouse, nor a spider.

At Crabbe Castle she had listened at night to the scuttling of rats and squeaking of mice in the dungeons. At Hogwarts and Cathrack Tor no matter how hard the house elves worked spiders webs would invariably find their way into dark corners. At Azkaban however there was nothing, it was if the dementors destroyed anything living.

"So how's Malfoy?" Ron muttered as they crept down a thousandth passageway

Hermione was startled by the question "How do you know about Malfoy?"

"Dumbledore" Ron said echoing her previously confusing explanation "So what's going on, is he on our side now or..."

"Ron..."

"You know he's always wanted to get into your knickers right?"

"Ron do you really want to do this now?" Hermione hissed. Then as if to demonstrate her point they heard the clear swoosh of a dementor's cloak up ahead and so doubled back.

They carried on walking for a few moments in strained silence before Hermione finally couldn't help herself.

"So did Luna know you where you were for all these months?" she asked.

"Well yeah" Ron shrugged "I mean her and Neville."

Hermione snorted "I cannot believe her. We all thought you were dead. You know your family's been distraught."

"Look, I told them not to say anything, it was too dangerous..." Ron said with a slightly raised voice.

"Oh there was me thinking you trusted me..." Hermione argued back "After everything..."

"Yeah but you weren't there were you? I thought you had been captured, that they were keeping you prisoner when all the time you were plotting with Malfoy." Ron shot back.

"I was taken prisoner" Hermione countered "Don't you dare..."

"Sna.. I was told you knew exactly what you were doing, that you could escape anytime you wanted to." Ron batted back; their voices were quite raised now "How exactly was I supposed to contact you when you've been palling around with Death Eaters?" He challenged, too annoyed to recognise the hypocrisy of his own words.

Hermione slapped him and the ringing sound echoed in the corridors "I've been back in touch with the Order for weeks so don't..."

She stopped; her face went pale as she stared at something behind Ron's shoulder. Ron turned around and saw a wall of dementors swooping their way. Their patronuses had dimmed to a soft shimmer.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_ They both shouted together. Otter and Terrier glowed back to life and propelled the first six dementors backwards but there were still many others still behind.

"Run!" Ron cried grabbing Hermione's hand and proceeded to do just that.

oOoOoOo

Dean was in a much worse state than Luna. His lips were cracked and bloodied as though he was dehydrated, his eyes drooped and he clutched at his left side at some unknown pain. Whilst Luna had quickly recovered in the presence of Harry's patronus, Dean needed to be supported by both Harry and Luna out of his cell.

"Harry." He murmured weakly squinting at his friend "Are you real?"

"He's been here much longer than I have." Luna explained as she once again tried to produce a patronus with Harry's wand and failed "I saw him when they brought me in."

Harry nodded as he quickly tried to work out what to do - he was supposed to be looking for Ron but Dean was clearly in no fit state to be exploring Azkaban and then there were the dementors.

After attacking he had expected them to return in greater numbers. They had however seen no other dementors on their way to Dean's cell and Harry was beginning to worry something was seriously wrong. Surely the dreaded guards to Azkaban would try to stop him stealing two of their prey.

"_Expecto Patronum_...I did it." Luna whispered happily as a silver hare leapt from the tip of Harry's wand and floated alongside his stag.

"Brilliant" Harry said feeling only a little better from the extra patronus "Give the wand to Dean."

"Don't know how much good I'll be" Dean admitted as they supported him slowly down the passageway. Unlike Luna he could not even produce whisps of vapour at first. "I can barely hold the thing."

"Just think happy thoughts" Harry encouraged "You've done it before, I've seen you."

"Harry's rescuing us" Luna said happily "That's a happy thought."

"I need to get you out of here." Harry said "The entrance isn't far, Luna if you take Dean and hide and then I can get Ron and..."

Luna's head whipped around so fast that her tangled hair hit her in the eyes "I'm going with you." She said firmly "I can find Ronald too."

"But...No." Harry spluttered, didn't she understand how ridiculous that was "You need to look after Dean, he can barely walk and..."

He stopped at this point but the other two didn't notice. There was a faint sound of rumbling like the floors upstairs was shaking...or somebody was running.

They craned their necks upwards to the noise and then to Harry's horror the pounding became louder as if people were running downstairs.

"Hide!" He cried but Dean was too weak and they could barely drag him along any faster.

"Leave me." Dean insisted as the pounding became louder.

"Fat chance" Harry snorted "You've still got my wand."

Dean returned his grim smile.

The thudding of feet on stone echoed nearby, their pursuers were on the same floor. A gentle whisp of silver came out of Harry's wand.

He and Dan faced each other and each came to a silent decision. The three of them stopped. The thudding got louder. Dean passed Harry his wand. Harry held it preparing to duel.

"Right Luna take Dean, I can probably slow them enough to..."

"No bloody way!" Dean interrupted angrily.

Thud, thud, thud.

"We're staying with you." Luna echoed.

"Don't be stupid..." Harry argued but trailed off as the thudding got even louder. Then he saw something which made him very much question his own sanity.

Ron and Hermione were running down the corridor heading straight towards them with what looked like most of Azkaban's dementors chasing them.

Harry blinked in wide eyes astonishment unable to quite believe his eyes. Was it a hallucination or a trick?

But there were their patronuses, a silver otter and terrier behind them slowing down the dementors.

"What are you standing there for you morons!" Ron shouted as they barrelled towards them. "RUN!"

Without thinking Harry pointed his wand at Dean and cried "_Levicorpus_."

A shocked and unsuspecting Dean yelped as he was yanked into the air by his ankle dangling upside down. Luna and Harry each grabbed onto one of his hanging hands and ran dragging him along in the air behind them. Ron and Hermione followed shortly afterwards.

"What are you doing here?" Harry and Ron yelled at each other at the same time.

"Rescuing Ron!" Harry and Hermione answered.

"Let's leave the chit chat till later shall we?" Dean suggested "Bloody hell... Duck!"

A low hanging archway was straight ahead. At the last minute Luna and Harry ducked pulling Dean down lower in the air. A second later and his feet would have smashed against the stone arch.

"This way" Harry called as they sped along more passageways towards the entrance. They hurtled out of the prison onto the cracked paved courtyard where they were being waited for.

There were dementors in such numbers that they blocked the sky. Everywhere Harry looked was a sea of black tattered cloaks, rattling reeking breath and the icy chill that echoed from them and pierced into his veins. He began to feel lightheaded and the sound in his ears became muffled.

The dementors that had been chasing them closed in behind them. There must have been over a thousand in all. Harry felt Hermione hold his wrist.

"What are we going to do?" Luna whispered. The silver stag, otter, terrier and hare were circling them, protecting them but four patronuses could not defeat all the dementors of Azkaban.

"I don't know" Harry admitted horribly.

On the other side of him was Ron who looked sick. Harry wanted to tell him that it wasn't his fault, that he had made his peace and if he was going to die it might as well be with his affairs in order and Ron and Hermione by his side.

His wand suddenly jerked out of his fingers and Harry realised it had been snatched by Dean.

Dean muttered in grim determination "They're not getting me now..._EXPECTO PATRONUM!_"

Maybe it was Dean's certainty, determination or something else but instead of nothing or a whisp of smoke, a great silver ram with large spiralled horns barrelled out of Harry's wand and charged at the dementors.

The ram barrelled through the dementors leaving the remnants of a tunnel in its wake. Harry saw what Dean was trying to do.

"Go!" He ordered and they ran through the makeshift tunnel.

Harry's stag followed Dean's ram in clearing the way, its head bent and antlers out it sent anything in its way into the mass of swirling deathly creatures. The other patronuses worked together swooping around the group to protect them.

They ran through the mass barely holding their breaths when up ahead Harry saw the ram had reached a stone wall.

"_Confringo!_" Ron yelled blasting the stone slabs which exploded out into dust and rubble exposing snow covered grass and the smell of the sea. "Come on!"

They scrambled out of the hole in the wall and outside the prison. The dementors followed them, flying through the hole and over the fortress battlements.

They kept running, stag and ram leading the way along the island and past the sea crashing against the rocks. Harry was just wondering how long they could continue running for when he saw something that made his heart flip.

The silhouette of _The Floating Cavalier_ sailing towards them.

"Make for the dock." He cried and he and Dean redirected their patronuses outwards towards the shore.

The Cavalier disappeared for a second and then reappeared right next to rickety dock, bobbing precariously in the shallower rock water.

He and the others ran through the snow towards the dock. Luna stumbled and almost fell but Ron and Harry caught her. He accidentally let go of Dean in the process but Hermione jumped up and grabbed Dean at the last second before he floated away.

"Kreacher is here for Master" Harry heard a weak squeaky voice call in the distance and saw Kreacher on deck holding his wrinkled hands out over the boat.

They pounded onto the dock which shook and threatened to break under their weight and then threw themselves onto the deck of the boat.

A thousand dementors swooped in from all sides.

The next second there was a loud _CRACK_ and they disappeared.

.

**So the trio is now reunited and they have a lot of catching up to do which will be explored in the next chapters when they are not being chased by dementors. **

**Just to note I couldn't find Dean's patronus listed anywhere so I chose a ram because it could charge, seems good for Dean and rhymes with his football team West Ham. I'd be interested if anybody knows Dean's actual patronus.**

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story so far (all criticism and feedback welcome)**


	26. Chocolate Cake at Sunrise

Dean and Kreacher were both in a bad way after they reappeared somewhere outside the Bay of Cruden. Harry's house elf had Apparated the forty foot sailing boat multiple times over the night and in the process drained every last strength it had.

Harry felt disgusted with himself when Kreacher collapsed on deck grey and weak. His eyes were yellow and dry and his arms and legs shook. Dean meanwhile fell in and out of consciousness, casting his patronus had taken back any recovery he had had since Luna and Harry opened his cell door.

They took them below deck and onto the bunks Fubster and Aunt Marge had once slept on. Luna and Hermione carried Kreacher whilst Harry and Ron carried Dean.

Hermione took all the healing potions she had from her trusted beaded bag and Harry produced a multitude of chocolate bars, cakes and mousses he had brought along for the rescue mission. Hermione took a couple of chocolate biscuits herself and instantly felt better as the sweet crumbly wafer melted in her mouth.

After the others had left she stayed below deck to finish performing healing charms on Dean and Kreacher. She cursed herself for leaving _The Healer's Helpmate_ spread open on the Weasley twin's kitchen table and then felt a pang of guilt as she remembered what else she had also left behind with Fred and George. She would go back and explain things as soon as possible she promised…just after she had got a couple of answers from Harry and Ron first.

After Dean and Kreacher had drifted off into a peaceful sleep she climbed up onto deck. A sliver of pale yellow light was beginning to creep into the horizon and above a handful of seagulls flew overhead squawking loudly. Hermione could see the coast of Scotland as a tiny undulating line in the distance if she squinted.

It was almost morning. Draco would be waking up soon, along with Fred and George. She wondered how long it would take them to find her missing. It surprised her how much it stung when she realised that Draco or Malfoy would hate her...especially after their fight. She still hadn't quite worked out what to call him yet and kept flipping back and forth in her mind. Should she really be calling someone who she had kissed by his surname?

Hermione shook her head and scolded herself as she touched on that particular memory. She was not so much of a girly girl that she was going to think about kissing at a time like this.

She turned from looking out to sea and went to sit by Harry who was lazily steering the helm whilst gulping down some Malteasers. Hermione grabbed a couple of sweets and yawned.

"Tired?" He asked.

Hermione nodded, she had not really slept properly for almost two days.

"Go and get some rest." Harry advised "We can't go anywhere until Dean and Kreacher are better anyway."

Hermione shook her head "I don't think I can sleep at a moment like this...can I have another Malteaser?"

Harry gave a mock sigh and handed her the entire packet "There's a whole sweetshop down below – beds too."

"I know, you came very well prepared." Hermione praised "Even Kreacher...that was impressive."

Harry shrugged and as though he didn't want to admit it said "He's not so bad once you get to know him."

Hermione smiled in approval "I'm very proud of you."

"Azkaban was bad though" Harry said "I mean I knew it would be, that's why I went but I never expected..."

He trailed off and Hermione understood the sense of shock and despair.

"I keep thinking about all those people we left behind." he admitted.

"We barely got out alive" Hermione tried to reassure him "The best we can do for those people is find the rest of the horcruxes."

"I have some news about that actually" Harry said not sounding thrilled. Hermione shared his sentiment, even with Hufflepuff's cup tucked away in her bag they still had to find the locket, something of Ravenclaw's and then somehow kill the snake Nagini.

"I'll explain to you and Ron later." Harry continued and she knew he meant once they had left Luna, Dean and Kreacher.

Hermione looked further down the ship where Ron and Luna were sitting close together. They were eating a chocolate gateau from the same plate and their heads were bowed as they talked. It was a strangely romantic scene set against the rising sun that juxtaposed oddly with the background of war.

"Are you...OK?" Harry asked awkwardly noticing her gaze. He had never been great with 'feelings and stuff.'

Hermione nodded. It would be a lie to say seeing the two of them so close didn't hurt because it did; it was just that it hurt less than it had when Ron was with Lavender. Maybe it was because she liked Luna more, maybe it was because this scene was less nauseating that Lavender and Won Won's romance had been or maybe it was because somehow kissing and being with Ron didn't seem as important to her anymore.

They stared out at the soft undulating sea whose waters were turning golden and pink with the sunrise. Hermione looked at Harry, he looked much older...almost like a man. There was dark stubble on his chin and a certain innocence had gone from his eyes which was strange considering Harry had always been the least innocent of them anyway. There was so much she wanted to ask him, to tell him but she wasn't quite sure where to begin.

"Hermione I...saw something" Harry suddenly spoke and he looked oddly nervous but at the same time eager to get this out "A couple of months ago when you escaped from the Lestranges"

Hermione frowned "How did you know I was with the Lestranges?" From what she had understood he hadn't been in contact with the Order since he had run away from Lupin and Tonks in August.

"I saw You Know Who punishing Rabastan Lestrange."

Hermione quickly felt a surge of worry "Harry you are not supposed to be seeing those things. Isn't that what Dumbledore was trying to stop from happening? Haven't you been practising occ..."

"Hermione" Harry interrupted sharply and then took a deep breath as though he was steeling himself "You Know Who mentioned something about Black and the escape and I was wondering..."

"Oh!" Hermione brought her hands to cover her mouth "I completely forgot"

"Hermione" Harry gestured impatiently.

"He's alive. Sirius, I mean. He's alive." She said quickly unable to believe that even in the drama of their escape from Azkaban she had forgotten to tell him "Bellatrix Lestrange was keeping him captive at the Lestrange house but he's OK now. The last I heard he was staying with Kingsley and his wife."

"But how? Why?" Harry spluttered, his eyes looking a little dazed.

"I don't really understand it" Hermione admitted "As far as I can tell it's very old trickery magic, apparently that arch at the Ministry only goes back to the middle ages. It's not nearly as ancient as we thought and it was built as a portal back to the Lestrange home. I think it's how the Death Eaters had been breaking into the Ministry. Anyway its charmed to trick viewers into thinking it brings death probably so they steer clear of it. That kind of magic isn't used very much anymore."

"So he's just been locked up by Bellatrix all this time?" Harry asked before adding with bitterness and self-recrimination "I suppose as bait for me."

Hermione nodded reluctantly "It's not your fault. Sirius already told me he doesn't blame anyone for what happened" She said trying to be reassuring "And I think Bellatrix has her own issues with Sirius; to be honest she probably would have wanted him locked up regardless."

She knew Harry knew that this was true but doubted it made any of this easier for him.

"He wants to see you." She added and then remembered her previous irritation when she had first arrived at the Den "I can't believe you ran away from Lupin and Tonks. Do you have any idea how worried people have been?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Harry spluttered indignantly "You and Ron were missing. I couldn't just sit around doing nothing!"

"But...where were you anyway?" She asked "Did you find Ron, were you with him and Luna?"

Harry frowned "I thought Luna was at Hogwarts" he said "The first I saw of Ron was a photo of him in _The Evening Prophet_. Before that the last I heard was that he had disappeared from the Ministry's captivity."

"That's the last I heard as well" Hermione admitted staring at the back of her red haired best friend's head with curiosity "That was the last the Order and the Death Eaters heard... Where has he been?"

oOoOoOo

The muggle shop bought cake Harry had got was excellent. Thick chocolate cream with caramel mousse, dark chocolate flakes and a soft crumbly sponge; Ron and Luna dug in eagerly.

Ron found himself looking at her every now again; she looked very pretty with her yellow hair against the golden dawn sky. He couldn't quite believe what was happening, a few hours ago he had been sure his stupidity had killed them both and now here they were.

Behind him he heard the quiet tones of Harry and Hermione talking together. He felt a bit pathetic to be perfectly honest. He had had to be saved by both of them, just like he had had to be saved by Snape. They had probably planned together and Ron felt a twinge of something not particularly pleasant when he thought of them alone together.

It was similar to how he felt when he thought of Hermione and Malfoy but not as strong because he actually liked Harry and was beyond relieved to see both him and Hermione.

"You're going with them aren't you" Luna said matter of factly speaking of Harry and Hermione.

"I have to" Ron answered "Hermione and I have to help Harry...we just have to...I've been selfish up till now."

"You were helping me and Neville, that doesn't seem very selfish" Luna countered. She was smiling as though she understood perfectly, that's one of the things Ron liked about Luna - she saw stuff other people couldn't.

Ron gave a wan smile "We won't go anywhere until we know you're all okay" He promised "Then we can take you back to the Order."

"Oh I'd like to see Ginny again" Luna said eagerly and Ron felt a pang when he thought of his family who he hadn't seen for months.

"I think we better go to Ireland though" Luna continued thoughtfully, she started picking off chocolate flakes from the cake's icing. "My Granny said she would look after us if anything happened. I think my Dad might be there."

"Ireland it is" Ron agreed bracingly trying not to think about how long it might be until he would see her again - if he would ever see her again. They had three horcruxes to find and destroy and one of those was a vicious monster snake.

"I'm sure when he's better Kreacher can..." Ron began in controlled tone but he stopped when Luna flung her arms round round his neck.

"Thank you for rescuing me" She whispered in his ear tickling his neck with her breath.

"Err... Right...it was no problem" Ron answered awkwardly and he held her carefully trying at once not to crush her or look as though he didn't want to hug her. Because he did.

Over her shoulder he caught Hermione's eye at the far end of the boat. The uneasy hippogriff in the room hung between them silently but difficult to ignore.

oOoOoOo

They drifted along the coast of Aberdeenshire another day and a half waiting for Dean and Kreacher to heal. It was difficult to make plans and talk about horcruxes in the presence of others on a small boat so Harry, Ron and Hermione had not had a chance to properly explain what had been going on for the past few months.

Hermione caught scraps however. She knew Ron had at least been in contact with Luna and Neville, but she had no idea how he had been able to contact Hogwarts without Snape finding out or why he didn't get in touch with the Order. She also knew Harry had been with his Aunt Marge and her friend Colonel Fubster, whose boat they were on. What she didn't know, and what was starting to worry her, was why he took a small sip of Skele-Gro every morning after breakfast.

Harry meanwhile kept asking her questions about how Sirius was, did he blame Harry and what Bellatrix had done to him. Ron unsurprisingly was concerned about his family, but all Hermione could tell him was that she had only seen Fred and George and had heard the others were well. She saw Harry's ears prick up at this and knew he was hoping to hear more news of Ginny.

Harry had provisioned for them well enough and there was enough food to get them through. There were only three places to sleep however. Two of these were occupied by Dean and Kreacher so the other four rotated who got to sleep on the remaining berth, who slept on the floor and who stayed up on deck keeping watch.

On the second day Kreacher threw what could probably best be described as a tantrum on learning that Sirius Black was alive. He glared at Hermione as though it was her fault and they realised that he was probably healing. That evening Dean was strong enough to sit up on deck with them and eat microwaved ready-made meals under the stars. Harry pulled the others aside and suggested it was time they were going.

The next day Harry packed his possessions and some supplies into a large rucksack and they moored off the coast in a deserted little cove where the rock pools had frozen over.

"Listen the boat's not actually mine" Harry said to Dean and Luna awkwardly "So please can you just make sure it's okay."

"After what you did for us?" Dean grinned "No problem mate."

"Great" Harry smiled "I've ordered Kreacher to take you to Ireland when he's fit enough. I may not actually be his master but he doesn't really seem to want to go back to Sirius so I reckon he'll listen."

"Yeah and if he doesn't you can always..." Ron started "Blimey I've just realised neither of you has a wand."

"That's okay, we have Kreacher" Luna said.

"No you need a wand, here take mine." Ron offered and to their surprise he held out his wand to Luna. Harry and Hermione looked at this with slightly widened eyes, there was a good chance Ron would need a wand a lot more than Dean and Luna.

"Not I couldn't..." Luna started.

"Please" Ron pressed taking her hand and closing around the wand so she had no chance but to hold it. Luna suddenly hugged him.

Harry, Hermione and Dean meanwhile pretended to find the deck and bow of _The Floating Cavalier_ very interesting as they avoided watching the two saying goodbye.

Afterwards the three of them said goodbye to Dean, Luna and Kreacher and Hermione Apparated them, her beaded bag and Harry's bulging rucksack to the beach.

oOoOoOo

They set up camp a few miles down the coast in a small dark cave. The opening was a jagged crack on the cliff face and with the tide in it would be difficult for any muggles to reach them.

Hermione set up the tent, Ron started a fire and Harry put up protection wards at the mouth of the cave. They sat around on damp rocks that smelled strongly of seaweed and ate cooked beans.

There was a pleasant yet somewhat awkward tension that hung in the air as if none of them knew where to start.

"Oh for goodness sake Harry" Hermione snapped dropping her fork with a clatter "What is the matter?"

Harry had just taken a small sip of Skele-Gro after he had finished eating again.

"What?" Harry asked as though he was genuinely dumbfounded at what she was asking.

"What do you mean what? That!" And she nodded at the Skele-Gro "And don't think I haven't seen you wincing every time you have to pick up something."

"It's nothing, just a little bump that's all." Harry shrugged looking back down at his food.

"People don't take Skele-Gro for bumps mate." Ron said.

"Well maybe I like the taste." Harry muttered petulantly.

"Harry." Hermione warned and she and Ron continued to stare heavily at him.

"Fine...I got a little bit...hit by a car" Harry admitted mumbling the last part very quickly.

"A little bit hit by a car?" Ron frowned in bemusement.

"Oh Merlin" Hermione said rushing to sit by him and yanked his shirt up to get a better look.

"Get off" Harry said trying to bat her off as Ron silently guffawed.

Hermione pushed his hands away "Those are stiches. Harry you've had surgery!" she accused.

"Not out of choice. I was unconscious and muggles found me." He defended.

"Blimey mate" Ron said appearing to take this a bit more seriously now "The muggle healers cut you up?"

Hermione inspected the stitches near Harry's hip in a clinical manner as though she was examining a potions ingredient.

"I can't believe this" she muttered "You've had major surgery and you've been running around like it's the last day of school."

"I've been taking stuff"

"Yes, Skele-Gro. What on earth possessed you to take Skele-Gro?" Hermione scolded. She grabbed her bag and started pulling vials and conical flasks of healing potions from its depths "Even you should know it's not going to have much effect on a wound like this."

"Well I couldn't exactly go into St Mungos could I?" Harry winced has Hermione started rubbing a cold green paste on his stitches "I nicked that off a wizard in a book shop..."

"Drink this" Hermione ordered tipping back his head and almost feeding him another potion. Harry felt incredibly stupid and it was not helped by Ron almost being in fits of laughter.

"...and it was all he had behind the counter." He finished explaining.

"Tut tut Harry" Ron sniggered "Stealing old warlock's prescriptions, your aunt's boat...what have you been up to?"

Harry who was obviously getting very fed up of the whole debacle shot back "I was on the run, what have you been up to?"

Hermione who had just about finished with Harry snapped her head back up "Yes Ronald, where have you been?" she asked coolly.

"Oh well you know..." Ron shrugged evasively.

"No we don't" Harry said "Hermione was captured by the Lestranges; then she was with the Order and Malfoy. I've been on the run with Kreacher and Aunt Marge. No-one has a clue where you've been."

"Not even the Death Eaters" Hermione added "Draco said that..."

"Oh its Draco is it?" Ron asked a little snidely.

"Ron we know you saw Luna but you can't have been at Hogwarts because that's impossible" Harry interrupted

"Why did you tell her not to say anything?" Hermione added "We all thought you were dead?"

"And how did you get out of the Ministry?" Harry pressed "Why didn't you come back to the Order when you escaped? You just vanished."

Ron took a deep breath and looked awkwardly down at the cave floor "OK" He said slowly "You have to promise you won't get angry and will let me finish."

"Why would we get angry?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"Just promise me ok?"

Hermione was going to press more but Harry said first "We promise."

Ron took a deep breath and began "I was at Hogwarts and…"

"But how?!" Harry spluttered unable to help himself.

"Ron that's not possible" Hermione told him "Snape knows every entrance, every hidden passageway into the castle. You couldn't possibly have gotten in without him finding out."

"He already knew" Ron replied "Snape was the one who rescued me from the Ministry, he snuck me into Hogwarts and I've been living in the Headmaster's Tower."

A state of silence met this confession, Hermione's mouth hung open unsure quite what to say. Ron raised his eyes from the cave floor to assess the reactions of his friends.

Harry's face was fixed and expressionless "Explain" he ordered.

"He's on our side, he always was." Ron explained quickly "He only killed Dumbledore because Dumbledore told him to. Dumbledore was already dying you see, he tried on the Gaunt ring when he first found it and it cursed him Snape tried to contain the curse, he slowed it but he couldn't get rid of the curse altogether so Dumbledore was still going to die. Snape had already told Dumbledore that Malfoy had been ordered to kill him so Dumbledore told Snape to do it instead to protect little Draco's '_innocent_' soul."

Hermione frowned at Ron's derisive use of the word 'innocent' in relation to Draco "And he just told you this?" She questioned sceptically "Dumbledore doesn't mention a word of this plan to anybody but for some reason its okay for Snape to tell you?"

"It wasn't Snape that told me" Ron said "Snape just brought me to Hogwarts; Dumbledore's portrait filled me in."

Harry and Hermione continued to look at him sceptically.

"Look I know it sounds unbelievable but he's been protecting the students from these really nasty Death Eater professors for months now. He reassigns most detentions to Hagrid; he was searching Death Eater homes for you…" Ron nodded to Hermione "…for weeks. He was going to rescue you the day after he met you at the Lestranges but by that time you had already escaped. _Crookshanks_ trusts him for Merlin's sake!"

Hermione was completely confounded, it all seemed so unlikely but like Ron she couldn't help but irrationally have faith in her cat's judgement.

"But why?" She asked "Why go through all of this? It's not as if any of us have ever been particularly nice to him."

Ron shrugged "I don't really know. I think it was more to do with revenge that anything to do with the Order. He said once that You Know Who killed someone he loved."

He gestured helplessly and Hermione knew what he was thinking. It was hard to imagine Snape _loving_ anybody "Who…" She started.

"My mum" Harry spoke breaking his silence and then at their quizzical expressions continued "They were friends when they were children…I think he might have loved her. I guess it would make sense that he turned spy after You Know Who killed her" He admitted before adding bitterly "After he told You Know Who about the prophecy."

"He said he begged You Know Who not to kill her" Ron added quietly although it didn't seem to make Harry feel any better and Ron hadn't really expected that it would.

"But…" Hermione started unable to completely drift from their original topic "Why would he tell you this, why would he risk his cover by hiding you at Hogwarts. He could have just stunned you into unconsciousness, rescued you and dropped you off somewhere near the Burrow."

Ron raised an eyebrow at her casual suggestion that he should just knocked out "He says he need to talk to Harry, apparently he's got something to tell you Harry" Ron said "And don't ask me what it is because Snape and Dumbledore won't tell me a thing - I tried."

Harry shrugged; he looked as though he didn't want to talk, as though he didn't want to think about confronting Snape about his mother yet.

Hermione bit her lip thinking and continued "There's one think I still don't understand." She said "You couldn't tell anyone you were at Hogwarts because it would jeopardise Snape's cover but why did you stay at Hogwarts once he had told you he wanted to see Harry. Neville and Luna must have told you how worried your family have been. Why didn't you…" She struggled with the next bit because she wanted to phrase it without it coming out as stupidly girly "Why didn't you return to the Order when Snape told you I had escaped?"

Hermione expected him to say something else about Snape and Dumbledore's secret plans or to stutter and go red as if it had something to do with Luna. What she did not expect was for a slightly smug smirk to creep over Ron's face.

"Ah" Ron started with a sparkle in his eyes "Well we were planning to go on quest to find and destroy horcruxes weren't we? I may have started a little early."

"You found out information about a horcrux?" Harry asked; his tone was much more eager now they were no longer talking about Snape and his late mother.

"Better than that mate, I found one." Ron said proudly "Ravenclaw's lost diadem. Luna and I found it hidden in the Room of Requirement and then I destroyed it with Gryffindor's sword."

Harry and Hermione gawped at him in absolute astonishment which was almost mildly insulting.

"And you're sure it was a horcrux?" Harry checked.

"Absolutely, the Grey Lady herself confirmed You Know Who had it in his possession." Ron nodded confidently "And the thing reeked of dark magic, right up until the moment I destroyed it."

"But you can't have!" Hermione protested with perhaps more outrage than was necessary.

"Why? Because there's no way a moron like me could stumble on a horcrux even accidentally?" Ron asked.

"You know that's not what I meant." Hermione said waspishly "You can't have destroyed it with the Sword of Gryffindor because the sword has been in the Lestrange vault at Gringotts."

"No it wasn't"

"Yes it was. Draco and I found it there only two days ago." Hermione contradicted "Draco has it in your brother's flat right now."

"You let _Draco Malfoy_ keep the _Sword of Gryffindor_?!" Harry said with disgust.

"Oh for Merlin's sake it's just a sword" Hermione muttered rolling her eyes.

"That's not the real sword" Ron scoffed "That's just a replica Snape gave the Lestranges. The real thing's still in Dumbledore's office."

"Well let's hope the other thing I found in the Lestrange vault wasn't a replica then" Hermione said a little disappointed she had apparently been one upped by Ronald.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked as Hermione started digging around in her beaded bag.

"The reason Draco and I broke into the vault in the first place was because _I _thought there might be a horcrux there." Hermione explained and she pulled from her bag the small gleaming Hufflepuff cup that had once belonged to Hepzibah Smith.

"You found it!" Harry exclaimed in awe.

"Brilliant" Ron grinned taking the cup from Hermione to get a closer look "That means there's only two left. Better pull your socks up Harry."

"Well we have one clue how to get the locket" Hermione said and some of Ron's excitement was infecting her "I've had a bit of a think about who R.A.B. could be and…Harry?"

Harry was staring off into the distance; a vague hazy look was on his face.

"Err…Harry?" Ron asked "You alright?"

"I…err…found the locket" Harry admitted in a dry cracked type of voice. Hermione and Ron stared at him dumbfounded as he pulled the ugly large 'S' shaped locket from one of the pockets of his rucksack.

The necklace swung between Harry's fingers and glittered in the firelight. Like the cup it exuded a horrible pulsing energy that made you want to stuff it away out of sight until it could be destroyed.

"Right" Hermione took a deep shuddering breath as the situation sunk in "So now we just have to…"

"Kill the snake" Ron gulped "The big murderous snake that never leaves You Know Who's side…"

Harry slowly shook his head "No" he whispered "Nagini is dead too. I killed her last week in Godric's Hollow, she was there waiting for me."

"But that means all we have to do is destroy the locket and the cup…" Hermione started.

"…and then You Know Who can be killed" Harry finished.

The three of them stared at each other unable to quite comprehend the reality of what they had just discovered. Several moments of silence passed that were broken only by the crackling fire.

"Well then…" Ron said at last "I guess we better go back to Hogwarts."

.

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story so far (all criticism welcome)**


	27. The Night Before the Dawn

After weeks of running and hiding deep underground, on frosted moors or in cold dark forests it felt strange to pace the soft bare earth of the tunnel knowing that at the end lay the warm comfort of Hogwarts.

Had they been more prudent, Harry, Ron and Hermione would have kept silent on their journey into a place that contained Death Eaters and their children but there was too much to tell. The depression of the dementors and weariness over the impossibility of the horcrux quest had lifted and they eagerly related each other with tales of their adventures.

Albeit with an element of nervous excitement which they used to hide their anxiety over the next task...killing Voldemort himself.

"I knew it did something else." Ron crowed after Hermione had described how the deluminator had taken her to Azkaban. "I mean Dumbledore's brilliant, barmy but brilliant. There's no way he would have just given me _a torch_."

Hermione had given him back the deluminator and he was holding it aloft guiding a ball of blue light which lit their way through the tunnel.

"Well we still haven't worked out why he gave me a children's book or Harry a snitch." Hermione said thoughtfully "We should ask him that when we get there. It might be important."

She had read _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ several times over, when she was a prisoner at Cathrack Tor, when she was camping with Sirius and Draco and as a guest at the Den. Still, frustratingly, she could divine no further meaning from the simple book of wizard fairy tales.

"Maybe the book isn't just a book, maybe it's also a..." Ron started but Harry put his arm out stopping them in their tracks at the base of what looked like a very tall spiral staircase.

"Listen" he whispered. The muted sound music drifted through the walls. Hermione strained her ears to listen closely.

_"__God rest ye Merry Hippogriffs, let nothing you dismay,_

_For treacle fudge and butterbeer we make this ice cold day"_

"That's got to be the Hufflepuffs" Ron whispered "There's no way the Slytherins sing carols to one another."

"I don't know they've got a lot to be happy about at the moment." Harry said darkly.

"You mean they think they've got a lot to be happy about." Ron countered with a smirk.

"Maybe it's the house elves." Hermione suggested.

"Merlin, Christmas must be heaven for a house elf" Ron joked "All that cooking...all that mess."

Hermione gave a light shove on the arm as they climbed higher on the staircase. They were speaking mostly in muted whispers now so as not to be overheard.

"Goodness" Hermione whispered "I've just realised, it's Christmas Eve."

"You're right" Harry agreed "Ron was arrested on the twenty first. That makes tonight Christmas Eve."

"Oh and I didn't get either of you anything" Hermione bemoaned.

Ron gave a dry chuckle "Hermione I think I can safely say, considering everything, that having you two here alive and well is the best present I've ever had or ever will get."

"Here, here" Harry echoed.

Hermione tried not to smile. The spiral staircase had come to a halt and was now blocked by the frayed canvas and woodwork that made the back of a painting.

Ron pressed his ear to the canvas, gently creaked open the painting and silently beckoned them to follow him.

The headmaster's office was just as Hermione remembered it with the clawed desk and spindly instruments except it was bathed in the silver light of a rising full moon. Harry and Hermione were instantly drawn to the great window to gaze out at the Black Lake and tiny spectre of Hagrid's hut in the grounds that proved they were indeed back at Hogwarts.

The sound of snoring, both soft and brutal, echoed from the surrounding portraits. Well from all but one.

"Weasley is back" Phineas Nigellus Black called looking down his nose as though this news both disgusted and bored him "And he's brought accomplices."

Several of the portraits awoke and started calling out greetings to Ron and the others.

"The boy who lived, well I never."

"Good to see you out of Azkaban boy."

"Back to cause more trouble eh?"

"Harry..."A familiar voice started and Hermione was jolted by the address of Dumbledore's portrait. She had never seen someone she had known die come back as a portrait before and although she had been expecting this the effect was quite jarring. "You came. Well done Mr Weasley."

Just then a medieval wizard with a great round face and bushy moustache snorted awake. He took one look at the three and shouted at the top of his voice "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDERS IN THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE!"

Harry and Hermione quickly withdrew their wands.

"Oh for Merlin's sake Godfrey it's only Potter, Weasley and Granger." Dilys Derwant scolded.

There was a thumping and the door behind the Headmaster's desk was wrenched open to reveal Snape with his wand pointed to attack.

"It's just us." Ron said quickly.

Snape lowered his wand slightly but did not withdraw it. He took in the trio with a tired almost bored air as if the most wanted wizard in the country and his two best friends frequently dropped in of an evening.

"That didn't last long. I assume you got hungry and didn't know how to cook for yourself?" He asked dryly.

Ron smirked and was about to answer when Snape raised his wand again.

"Granger you will tell me what happened to your teeth in your fourth year, Potter will state the spell he used on Draco Malfoy and Weasley will tell me what his boggart is."

The three all answered reluctantly and as Ron tested Snape's identity Harry muttered to Hermione "Still as charming as ever then."

"Please children take a seat" Dumbledore's portrait said "I have yet to properly welcome Harry and Miss Granger and there is much to discuss. I assumed from the lack of duelling that Mr Potter and Miss Granger are now aware of Professor Snape's true allegiances?"

Ron nodded and the three sat down in front of the clawed desk.

Snape lit the candles and started a fire. He then retreated to the winged back chair and then the two headmasters listened as they told their tale.

Harry ended the tale with the bit where Bathilda Bagshot's ceiling had collapsed on Nagini. Hermione was still impressed at the display of wandless magic that freed Harry from the body bind curse and only mildly jealous.

"She must be dead" Harry said "I know that normally only strong magic can destroy a horcrux but there was no way a creature could have survived that."

"The snake is dead." Snape confirmed.

"How do you know?" Ron asked.

Snape didn't reply, he merely pulled a newspaper from one of the drawers and threw it across the desk. The three bent to read what was a muggle newspaper called _The Somerset Echo_.

_GAS EXPLOSION CARNAGE IN GODRIC'S HOLLOW - 23 DEAD_

"No" Harry whispered. Hermione read the article in horror.

"It is not your fault" Dumbledore said clearly and firmly "Tom killed those people not you and the only way to get rid of Tom is to first destroy Nagini."

"I didn't mean for this to happen." Harry said and he had gone a little pale. Hermione put a hand on his shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting manner.

"And yet it did" Snape said perfunctorily "As did deaths in Colbridge and the torture of Pettigrew's mother the next day."

Harry tensed further. "Severus..." Dumbledore warned.

But Snape was not to be deterred "Perhaps if you had done as you were supposed to and stayed with the Order..."

"And how would we have found the horcruxes that way?" Ron asked "They're supposed to be a secret. Dumbledore's right Harry, this is not your fault."

"Although perhaps if you had taken the time to plan instead of charg..." Snape started.

"Severus!" Dumbledore snapped "That is quite enough. What is done is done. In less than five months these three teenagers have achieved what I failed to do in five years. There will always be 'what ifs' in war and it is usually pointless to dwell on them."

This seemed to silence Snape, though he still did not look happy.

"Um...Professor Snape?" Hermione started before she could stop herself "What about the break-ins? Gringotts and Azkaban I mean, has anything happened because of them?"

"You mean after your extensive flouting of both muggle and magical law?" Snape said with a curled lip and Hermione wondered how Ron had coped living with such a man for months on end. "The Gringotts break in was blamed on Bagman, he currently being hunted and knowing Bagman it won't be long before the goblins or aurors catch up with him. As far as I am aware your little escapade in the Lestrange vault has not yet been noticed."

"And Azkaban?" Ron asked.

"Potter's involvement is suspected, although it cannot be proved, purely by virtue of the fact Mr Thomas and Miss Lovegood are known associates of his." Snape answered Ron "The Death Eaters have also worked out that you were a prisoner there - that disguise was incredibly insufficient by the way. The Snatchers that captured you have been tortured."

Ron gulped.

"Cheer up mate" Harry said bitterly "At least you didn't kill anybody."

"Neither did you Harry" Dumbledore reiterated "And now we have delayed too long already. Harry, would you and Miss Granger please present your horcruxes?"

Harry and Hermione removed the cup and the locket from their bags and placed them on Snape's desk. All four got to their feet and Snape retrieved the sorting hat from its usual perch.

Nobody spoke as Harry pulled the Sword of Gryffindor from the hat and the occasion had a distinct air of solemnity to it as if they were at a funeral. Which in a funny sort of way they were Hermione mused.

First the locket was placed on one of the spindly tables.

"Should I open it first?" Harry asked.

"No, Tom's soul lies within and that is something too dangerous to be revealed in Hogwarts" Dumbledore advised "A strike of the sword should be sufficient."

Hermione remembered what the ring had done to Dumbledore. Harry raised his eyebrows and swung the sword back over his shoulder.

"Wait" Ron stopped him to bemused stares "The diadem made a hell of a racket."

Snape rolled his eyes but swished his wand and muttered "_Muffliato_"

The locket didn't make a noise but did vibrate so violently it almost fell of the table before Harry could bring the sword down with an enormous WHACK!

Shards of gold and glass from the table flew everywhere and those living and in the portraits ducked.

"I say" Phineas Nigellus huffed as part of the gold chain struck his canvas and ripped a large chunk of the material.

"_Accio_" Snape called as Hermione mended the table. The shards of gold from the broken necklace flew towards him and he threw it on the fire where the gold bits started to melt.

"Miss Granger" Dumbledore prompted.

"Oh yes" Hermione answered and she placed Hufflepuff's cup on the table and Harry passed her the sword.

For a brief second she lamented the imminent destruction of a valuable historical artefact that had one belonged to Helga Hufflepuff herself. The she remembered the soulless and mad in Azkaban, the Lupins hiding underground, Draco ripped from his parents, Cathrack Tor and the many many dead.

She brought down the sword with less force than Harry but nevertheless made a good strike.

The cup was cut cleanly in half and black bubbling liquid that smelled of rotting flesh oozed out from the cups innards. It burned a hole in the table and threatened to drip onto the floor before Harry said "_Evanesco_"

"Lovely" Ron said with his nose scrunched up as the lingering smell.

There was a heavy silence as the events sunk in. All the horcruxes had been destroyed. Voldemort was mortal.

"So how do we kill Riddle?" Harry asked in an oddly forced light tone.

oOoOoOo

Ron found Hermione later in one of the guest bedrooms of the Headmaster's Tower. It had an ugly floral pattern wallpaper and sunken bed and had once been inhabited by Armando Dippet's mother.

Crookshanks appeared to have taken a liking to the room and had made up a nest of sorts with the bedclothes. So Hermione waited out the hours till dawn by reading up on defensive magic and petting her cat who lay curled up on her lap.

"Feels strange being back here doesn't it?" Ron announced his presence from the doorway "Dinner?"

He carried into the room two plates of shepherd's pie and sat down on a chair beside the bed.

"Thanks" Hermione said eagerly accepting the food. It had been a while since she had had a properly cooked meal - Harry's microwave wonders on the boat didn't really count. "Extremely strange, I keep on thinking this is going to be a trap."

Ron frowned "Snape is on our side you know. You heard it from Dumbledore himself and he just got me another wand. And he helped us destroy the horcruxes."

Hermione bit her lip in concern "Yeah I know but...Nevermind - how's Harry?"

"Alright, a bit scared but trying not to show it." Ron said "It's finally here you know? We're finally going to kill You Know Who. That's enough to give anyone the willies."

"Especially Harry as will be the only one without a disguise." Hermione pointed out. The plan they had arrived on was for Hermione and Ron to use the remaining polyjuice potion to transform into the Carrows. They and Snape would then use Harry to lure Voldemort to deserted moorland far from Hogwarts.

"You Know Who will be dead before he has finished Apparating." Ron reassured her confidently. "That's what all this secrecy was for wasn't it - so that we would have the element of surprise."

"Despite the fact that none of us apart from Snape has ever carried out the killing curse?" Hermione questioned.

"Well it's not something that you can go around practicing is it?" Ron tried to joke but it fell flat "Look I reckon Dumbledore means for Snape to kill him. We're just there for back up. Just because the prophecy says neither can live whilst the other survives doesn't mean Harry has to be the one to kill You Know Who it just means one of them has to contribute to the other's death eventually. And Snape's already killed for Malfoy."

"I guess..." Hermione hesitated "But doesn't it seem weird though?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well Snape made all those comments about not coming up with a proper plan for breaking into Azkaban or killing Nagini and now the four of us are just going to kill You Know Who." Hermione reasoned "No Order, no Dumbledore's Army. We wouldn't even need to tell them about the horcruxes or Riddle just that we needed back up."

"That was Harry's idea; I thought you agreed to keep it just us." Ron frowned. "That there was no reason to put any of the others in danger?"

"Yes but I don't understand why Snape and Dumbledore agreed. I keep thinking there's something they are not telling us, Dumbledore still hasn't explained why he left us the snitch and _The Tales of Beedle the Bard._" Hermione confided "The whole thing seems reckless. What if Riddle defeats Snape, then he's only faced with three teenagers, none of whom have ever used Avada Kedavra?"

"It's not as if we're normal teenagers." Ron protested "We've done a lot more than most aurors."

"Yes but what if he reads our minds?" Hermione worried "He could find out about the horcruxes, he could use us to make more and it could take years for somebody else to find and destroy them."

Ron absorbed her words "Look I know it's not the best plan" He admitted "But no plan to defeat You Know Who was ever going to be. Dumbledore and Snape both want him gone, they wouldn't have agreed to this if they didn't think it would work."

His voice was confident but Hermione detected a brief wavering in the tone.

"Besides you know how Harry is with saving people" Ron continued. "There's no way he's risk anyone else dying for him. The only reason we get to go is because he knows I'll knob him if we don't."

Hermione gave a strained smile, her anxiety wasn't completely abated.

"You know what your problem is? You've been hanging out with Slytherins too much."

Hermione raised a wry eyebrow "Hark who's talking."

They lapsed into a pregnant silence full of unanswered questions. Ron finished his shepherd's pie and put the plate on top of Hermione's already empty one.

"Are you ok, you know...with..." It was the way he was struggling and looking her with pity that let Hermione know what he was trying to talk about. She instantly looked away from him and suddenly felt a violent hatred towards Snape who must have guessed and told Ron.

"Yes" Hermione said quickly.

"If you ever want to talk about it..." Ron offered, his offer was sincere but she knew he would rather do anything else than discuss her repeated rape at the hands of Crabbe's father.

"I already have talked about it." Hermione lied hoping he would move away from this horrible subject.

Ron frowned "With Malfoy?"

"No with Tonks" Hermione replied coldly and then as if feeling some need to punish him for dragging up a subject she wanted to bury deep, deep inside herself "Are you having sex with Luna?"

Ron flinched backwards at the bluntness of her question.

"Why would you ask that?" That wasn't a 'no'.

He seemed almost sad and Hermione felt a flicker of guilt but it was only a flicker.

"You went to Azkaban for her." She shrugged.

Ron looked around uneasily in his seat and started fidgeting "Look I like her okay, I admit it. So what - you like Malfoy." he ended with an accusation.

"I kissed Malfoy."

Ron groaned and ripped back his head rubbing his eyes "I didn't need to know that."

The guilt grew a little "No you didn't" Hermione conceded. There was another silence, she thought Ron would leave but he didn't "What happened to us?" she asked softly

"I don't know" Ron replied "I always thought we would..." He gestured helplessly between them.

"Me too" Hermione agreed sadly.

"My parents married when their first year out of Hogwarts. They got together when they were fourteen." Ron said "I kind of assumed that would happen to me."

"That was the sixties." Hermione quietly reminded him "My parents didn't meet until they were twenty five."

"Yeah, Bill only met Fleur a couple of years ago and none of my other brothers even have girlfriends at the moment." Ron said "Well Percy might, but I'm pretty sure he's not married yet."

Hermione said slowly as though working something out "So maybe it's ok that you like Luna and I like Draco. Maybe..."

"Hermione..." Ron interrupted and she suddenly noticed there was fear in his eyes "We might die tomorrow."

"Yes, we might" Hermione agreed.

They looked at each other for a second and the Ron climbed onto the bed where Hermione was sitting and put his arms around her. She snuggled into him and they lay down holding each other like child siblings who had just awoken from nightmares might do.

Ron sighed "Please never mention Malfoy and snogging in the same sentence again."

Hermione couldn't help it; she burst out into a giggle.

oOoOoOo

The grandfather clock in the Headmaster's drawing room ticked past one as Harry hovered in the doorway. He should go to sleep or have a shower or eat something like Ron and Hermione but he was too on edge. His entire life had been leading up to this moment of reckoning and he was at once dreading it and in anticipation of its climax.

One way or another it would all be over tomorrow. Voldemort or Harry would be dead.

Outside it had begun to snow. Snape was sitting in a dark green high backed chair by the fire just staring into the flames. He was perfectly still, if a little paler than usual and his fists were clenched tightly. Harry suddenly realised that there was not a Christmas decoration in the entire tower.

"Didn't anybody ever teach you that it was rude to stare Potter." Snape said suddenly apparently aware of his presence.

"Normally they're the ones staring at me." Harry replied and gingerly approached turning over a bundle of letters in his hands. His insides were turning as he sat down across from his former professor. He had made a decision to talk about his mother tonight, he couldn't imagine any scenario where such a talk ended well but he had to try – in all likelihood one or both of them would be dead by tomorrow.

"I found these…" Harry gestured the bundle and passed it to Snape "…in Godric's Hollow."

Snape tensed when he recognised the writing and the hand that held the letters tightened causing them to crinkle. His eyes betrayed a vulnerability as though Harry caught a glimpse of his soul and it was sad and frightened.

"They were already opened." Harry said "I found them in a drawer in their house, for her to have kept them for so many years they must have meant a great…"

Snape threw the bundle of letters onto the floor with a thud, Harry winced, and his eyes darkened and became impenetrable once again.

"Get out" he said coldly.

"I want…"

"Potter for some twisted cruel reasons of irony the fate of the wizarding world rests on your insolent mediocre shoulders tomorrow" Snape sneered "The very least you could do is practice some defensive magic or…"

"I want to know why" Harry undercut firmly "Why didn't you tell me? Why did no-one tell me – I had a right to know."

"I see you are as entitled as ever" Snape replied "You had no right…"

"She was my mother" Harry raised his voice "I had every right to know that you were friends, that you betrayed her, that you spied for her, that you lov…"

He trailed off sensing that he was going too far

"I will not be laughed at!" Snape snapped exuding both anguish and rage.

"I'm not…"

"And I will be pitied!"

"Good because I don't want to do either!" Harry argued back before lowering his voice and saying more calmly "I just want to know what she was like."

Snape looked at him for a long while with a gaze that pierced his confidence and ultimately made him drop eye contact. Harry looked down at the claret coloured carpet and was about to get up and leave when…

"She was beautiful and kind and warm." Snape suddenly said in a hoarse voice. He was not looking at Harry now either, his head was turned to the fireplace but he seemed to be gazing off far into the distance.

"I don't mean stuff like that; people have already told me that" Harry muttered bitterly "I want to know something real."

"Well there was nothing real about your mother boy!" Snape snapped "She was every superlative under the sun and more."

"She didn't forgive you." Harry reminded him quietly "She can't have been perfect, nobody is. She couldn't prevent you from joining Riddle, from turning to dark magic and she must have tried very hard for these letters to make any sense."

"Yes…yes she did try." Snape admitted "But don't ever attempt to look for sense in the histrionics of youth Potter."

Harry wondered if he was talking about himself or Lily.

"Keep the letters boy" Snape told him standing up "I did not know your mother well and I have no right to speak of her now." And he left the room.

Harry frowned and got up to go after him.

"Harry." A voice called in the corner, Dumbledore's portrait shook its head in his frame.

"But…" Harry protested sitting down nevertheless "He was her best friend, how can he say he knows nothing about her."

"Severus's memories are to do with as he wishes." Dumbledore said in a tone that implied Harry should respect that but Harry didn't want to respect it – he wanted to know about his mother before he attempted to battle the wizard who had killed her.

"You should have told me" Harry repeated.

"I should have done a great many things." Dumbledore said "It's one of the advantages of being a painting, I can sit back all day and all night and think of nothing but my regrets, the actions I should or should not have taken."

"I'm going to make him tell me about my parents. I'm not going to miss my chance with him, Sirius or Lupin again" Harry vowed "Hell I might even survive tomorrow just so I can badger him into telling me…"

He trailed off, Dumbledore was shaking his head again only much more gravely. There was pity in his eyes and his wrinkled face was lined with sorrow. Part of Harry wondered if he was objecting to the badgering of Snape but deep within him Harry knew that wasn't the part of the statement to which Dumbledore disagreeing.

"You never know, stranger things have happened." Harry said in a forced joking manner. Dumbledore stayed stony faced and serious, he did not smile at Harry's attempt at humour. "I've got this far." He offered weakly.

"My dear boy, I am so sorry."

Harry almost knew what was coming, in some way he had always known what Dumbledore would say but maybe he had hoped…They were so close after all…it was the darkness before the dawn.

"Tell me" Harry said and when he received no reply raised his voice "Tell me!"

Dumbledore took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "On the night Tom tried to kill you, when your mother cast her own life before you as a shield, the Killing Curse rebounded upon Tom…"

"I know this" Harry interrupted with frustration, it felt like he had heard this story in this office so many times before. It seemed only now would he hear how the story ended.

"From the impact a fragment of Tom's soul was blasted apart from the whole, and latched itself onto the only living soul left in that collapsed building." Dumbledore paused and then as if he was forcing himself to speak continued "Part of Tom lives inside you Harry, and it is that which gives you the power of speech with snakes, and a connection with Riddle's mind. And while that fragment of soul, unmissed by Tom, remains attached to and protected by you, Tom Riddle cannot die."

Harry seemed to be watching his old headmaster speak from one end of a long tunnel, he were so far away from him, his voice echoing strangely in his ears

"So I must die" Harry said quietly gripping the arm rests of his chair a little tighter.

"And Riddle himself must do it, Harry. That is essential."

There was a long silence. Then Harry said, "I thought...all those years...that…I knew…or I guessed. Ginny and the others told me not to be stupid."

The thought of Ginny was like a painful blow to the gut. He would never see her again, never get to say goodbye.

"The connection between you will grow ever stronger, a parasitic growth." Dumbledore warned "You have done so well my boy but this must be the end."

This was why they weren't bringing the Order tomorrow – today rather for it was past midnight – why they were going alone. Harry wasn't going to defeat Voldemort he was going to be a sacrifice.

"Does Snape know?" Harry asked hoarsely, he could hardly speak now "Do Ron and Hermione?"

"Severus knows, I needed somebody to tell you in case you were elsewhere when the time came." Dumbledore confirmed "It's why he can barely look at you now, why he feels he has no right to speak of your mother tonight. I betrayed him you see…I promised I would protect you for her in return for his service."

Harry wondered if he should be filled with anger, throwing and shouting curses at Dumbledore. Instead he just sat numbly in one of the chintz armchairs almost paralyzed.

"Miss Granger and Mr Weasley do of course not know." Dumbledore continued "I believe we can trust their judgement and skill to carry on the fight when the time comes. I do however expect my portrait to be destroyed afterwards."

Harry sunk back into the armchair in the tower where he had once thought he was learning the secrets of victory. Finally, the truth, Harry understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Death's welcoming arms. Along the way, he was to dispose of Voldemort's remaining links to life, so that when at last he flung himself across Voldemort's path, and did not raise a wand to defend himself, the end would be clean, and the job that ought to have been done in Godric's Hollow would be finished: Neither would live, neither could survive.

"Harry?" Dumbledore questioned quietly.

"Can you leave please?" Harry asked coolly and he heard Dumbledore shuffle out of his portrait. He sat alone in the darkening drawing room with the dying fire as the castle echoed silently around him. Outside it had stopped snowing and it seemed as if all was still yet Harry could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Its beats were numbered. How many would there be time for, as he rose and walked through the castle for the last time, out into the grounds and towards his death.

Dumbledore's betrayal was almost nothing. Of course there had been a bigger plan; Harry had simply been too foolish to see it, he realized that now.

He had never questioned that his own assumption: that Dumbledore wanted him alive. Now he saw that his life span had always been determined by how long it took to eliminate all the horcruxes. And Dumbledore had known that Harry would not duck out, that he would keep going to the end, even though it was his end, because he had taken trouble to get to know him, hadn't he?

Harry leaned forwards and rested his head in his hands; his forehead had begun to throb. It was strange that at this moment, so close to his death, he would experience minor aches and pains. He thought of Ron, Hermione and Snape and wondered if he should leave right now and offer himself to Voldemort alone. At least _they_ would then be protected…they could come up with a plan later to kill Voldemort safely…perhaps Snape could poison him. Perhaps that's what they meant to happen and the others would merely accompany him as an honour guard to his death and Disapparate away afterwards.

But then how would Snape get Ron and Hermione away after he had been killed…they would not want to run, they would want to fight. Any action to protect the suddenly rebellious Carrows would betray Snape's true allegiances surely?

Harry's head hurt thinking about it, no not his head…his scar. It was hit with a stabbing pain as if the scar was being split open and Harry cried out silently as he was plunged into darkness.

_He cast a cold stare on the bodies around. The Nuremgard guards had been paltry in their defence of the prisoners at best. He had killed them all, first Grindelwald then those in the cells next to him until everyone that had once breathed in the great prison of Nurmengard was dead._

_He looked dispassionately at the once great dark wizard lying there sunken and grey, too weak to overcome the decrepitation and weakness of old age and finally death. _

_There were still four left, of that he was sure – he had beaten death and no-one would ever be able to discover that secret. Potter had gotten lucky; he had killed Nagini in a desperate attempt to save his own skin. Voldemort knew that on any other day Nagini would have triumphed, she would have struck her poisonous fangs into that boy and eaten him whole._

_A flashing image of the snake's bloody and broken body lying in the wreckage of Bathilda Bagshot's house came to him and Voldemort felt a surge of rage erupt from inside him once more. He screamed out, his power and strength exploding as the walls of Nurmengard crumbled around him._

_Voldemort launched himself into the sky not looking back to see the once mighty fortress collapse in on itself. His anger and rage made him stronger than ever as he flew at lightning speed through the cold night air._

_Now he knew where the Elder wand was and he would use it to destroy Harry Potter once and for all._

"Harry, Harry!" Someone was shaking him desperately "Harry, please wake up"

He was lying on the floor of the Headmaster's drawing room panting heavily. Hermione, Ron and Snape were crowded around him all wearing varying expressions of concern.

"Are you alright? You've gone really pale." Ron asked.

"You're burning up" Hermione worried placing a hand on his forehead.

"You saw him didn't you?" Snape asked, although Harry could tell from his voice that he didn't need an answer.

Harry nodded "He's coming…" he gasped and then craned his neck to Dumbledore who had returned to his portrait "Riddle's coming for your wand…he's coming to Hogwarts."

Dumbledore nodded "Then we don't have a moment to lose."

Snape suddenly gasped and clutched at his forearm where Harry knew the Dark Mark was "The Dark Lord is here."

.

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story so far in general (all criticism welcome)**


	28. The Master of the Elder Wand

The undergrowth beneath the snow in the Forbidden Forest rustled and whispered with creeping, crawling insects and the odd slithering snake. Overhead the bare branches of the ancient trees creaked threateningly in the wind cutting a striking black silhouette against the spectral silver moon.

Harry, Ron and Hermione shivered underneath Harry's invisibility cloak sheltered from the cold wind by the raised roots of a large gnarled oak. Ron and Hermione had transformed into the foul Amycus and Alecto Carrow who were currently tied up and gagged locked up in Alecto's own office. Neither Carrow had a slender frame and the three clutched together so they could all fit under the cloak however it was unlikely that in the darkness and hidden by the trees they would have been seen anyway.

Beyond the tree line they watched two cloaked figures cross the grounds together towards the lake, the moonlight bounced off Voldemort's pale grey skin somehow making it more dull and ghostlike. Terror dug inside Harry and he wondered if it would hurt to die.

"I shall join you in the castle shortly," Voldemort said in his high, cold voice. "Leave me now."

Snape bowed and set off back up the path, his black cloak billowing behind him.

Voldemort walked slowly, waiting for Snape's figure to disappear. Once Snape had disappeared into darkness, he hurried up.

"Let's go" Harry whispered and the three creeped silently after him staying hidden behind the tree line.

They followed him around the lake and Harry joined Voldemort in taking in the outline of the castle that had been the first and only home for them both. It would be the last time Harry would see it and he found himself thinking of those that slept there; Neville, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, Ernie Macmillan, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout…even Trelawney. He thought of the gloriously muddy quidditch pitch in the rain, the greenhouses with extraordinary plants that baked in the summer, the mountains of delicious food cooked by the house elves and the comfy Gryffindor Common Room with its roaring fire.

"Oh no" Hermione whispered.

Harry snapped his head back to Voldemort and washed as a translucent sheen rippled over him and the Dark Lord disappeared under a Disillusionment Charm.

"It's ok" Harry replied focusing his mind on the task at hand "We know where he's going."

They headed in the direction of Dumbledore's tomb and every so often glimpsed a footprint being made in the snow several yards ahead by an invisible foot.

The white marble tomb stood impressively beside the lake, reflected in the dark waters and shining brightly in the moonlight. Harry felt a rush of controlled euphoria that could have only come from Riddle for he himself was feeling petrified. He looked back and saw Snape approaching after having doubled back.

"Shouldn't we go now?" Ron whispered as they watched "Before he steals Dumbledore's wand."

Harry shook his head "We need to get him off Hogwart's grounds" he lied.

"But Harry I don't under…" Hermione started. Harry clasped her hand and put his finger to his lips shaking his head.

The tomb was suddenly split open from head to foot. Harry felt revulsion and he saw the wrappings of shroud unfurl themselves and although he could not see it he knew Voldemort was looking at Dumbledore's corpse. A long thin wand was pulled from the tomb and held at what must have been above Voldemort's head. A shot of emerald green sparks flew from its tip and sparkled over the corpse turning the tomb and snow around it a ghostly emerald for a moment.

Harry felt Riddle's triumph burn through him. Snape stood beside them. It was time.

Harry swallowed and pulled off the Invisibility Cloak turning to Ron and Hermione. He wished he could have seen their faces one last time instead of the Carrows. It had been dreadful these past five months being without them.

"Whatever happens, follow mine and Snape's lead." He told them "Promise me."

"Harry I don't…" Hermione stuttered, she looked confused and scared "This seems wrong."

Ron appeared equally uneasy.

"Promise me." Harry ordered gently.

The two of them looked at each other and then reluctantly nodded. Harry couldn't help it; he threw his arms around them and hugged them tightly. Ron and Hermione held him and each other just as hard.

"So, do we hug now?" Ron attempted to joke and the other two gave a weak laugh.

Next to them Snape cleared his throat and the moment was over. They were short on time and every second wasted Voldemort was getting closer to the school.

Snape looked questioningly at Harry, Harry could tell he did not want to do this but he like Harry would do it anyway. Because it needed to be done.

"I'm ready." Harry nodded braver than he felt. It was over, he knew it, and all that was left was the thing itself: dying.

Snape grasped the back of his jacket around his neck and pulled him forwards out of the forest, Ron and Hermione followed.

"My Lord" Snape called to the retreating footsteps.

The footsteps stopped and the Disillusionment Charm rippled once more falling off completely. Voldemort turned to Snape with fury "You dare foll…" He spat but then stopped as he took in who Snape held in his grasp "Potter…" He hissed almost in glee.

"Amycus and Alecto caught him attempting to sneak into the school." Snape said and threw Harry forwards so he stumbled closer to Voldemort.

Once Harry might have heard Ron and Hermione step closer unable to hide their concern but nobody mattered anymore but Voldemort. Snape, Hermione and Ron had faded into the background. Voldemort had frozen where he stood, his red eyed found Harry and he stared as he moved toward him.

Harry thought inexplicably of Ginny, and her blazing look, and the feel of her lips on his…

Voldemort had raised his wand. His head was still tilted to one side, like a curious child, wondering what would happen if he proceeded. "The boy who lived come to die." He half whispered.

Harry dropped his wand onto the soft snow blanket. He looked back into the red eyes, and wanted it to happen now, quickly, while he could still stand, before he lost control, before he betrayed fear…He saw the mouth move, a flash of green light, he heard Hermione's terrified scream and everything was gone.

oOoOoOo

"NOOOO!" Ron roared as Harry's limp body fell to the ground with a soft thud. His skin seemed greyer and those bright green eyes were blank and empty.

Somebody was screaming, a terrifying blood curling scream and it took a few seconds for Hermione to realise that it was her.

"What is this Carrows?" Voldemort looked almost mildly amused at the reaction "Do you mourn the death of Potter?" then he added more sinisterly "Do you mourn the victory of your lord?"

"_Avada…_" Hermione started but a river of fire burst from Voldemort's new wand and shot past her, she barely dodged it.

Ron and Snape quickly started firing off spells at Voldemort as she recovered.

Riddle deflected them easily enough and was soon viciously duelling with all three of them "Traitors" he whispered with fury.

Hermione couldn't help but think the same thing about Snape as the three of them battled desperately to save their own lives.

oOoOoOo

He lay face-down, listening to the silence. He was perfectly alone. Nobody was watching. Nobody else was there. He was not perfectly sure that he was there himself.

A long time later or maybe no time at all, it came to him that he must exist, must be more than disembodied thought, because he was lying, definitely lying, on some surface. Therefore he had a sense of touch, and the thing against which he lay existed too.

He lay in a bright mist, through it was not like mist he had ever experienced before. His surroundings were not hidden by cloudy vapour; rather the cloudy vapour had not yet formed into surroundings. The floor on which he lay seemed to be white, neither warm nor cold, but simply there, a flat, blank something on which to be.

He sat up. His body appeared unscathed. He touched his face. He was not wearing glasses anymore. Then a noise reached him through the unformed nothingness that surrounded him: the small soft thumpings of something that flapped flailed, and struggled. It was a pitiful noise, yet also slight indecent. He had the uncomfortable feeling that he was eavesdropping on something furtive, shameful.

He stood up, looking around. The longer he looked, the more there was to see. A great domed glass roof glittered high above him in sunlight. Perhaps it was a palace. All was hushed and still, except for those odd thumping and whimpering noises coming from somewhere close by in the mist. Harry turned slowly on the spot, and his surroundings seemed to invent themselves before his eyes. A wide-open space, bright and clean, a hall larger by far than the Great Hall, with that clear domed glass ceiling. It was quite empty. He was the only person there, except for…

He recoiled. He had spotted the thing that was making the noise. It had the form of a small, naked child, curled on the ground, its skin raw and rough, flayed-looking, and it lay shuddering under a seat where it had been left, unwanted, stuffed out of sight, struggling for breath.

He was afraid of it. Small and fragile and wounded though it was, he did not want to approach it. Nevertheless he drew slowly nearer, ready to jump back at any moment. Soon he stood near enough to touch it, yet he could not bring himself to do it. He felt like a coward. He ought to comfort it, but it repulsed him.

"You cannot help." He spun around. Albus Dumbledore was walking toward him, full bodied, sprightly and upright, wearing sweeping robes of midnight blue.

"Harry," He spread his arms wide, and his hands were both whole and white and undamaged. "You brave, brave man. Let us walk."

Stunned, Harry followed as Dumbledore strode away from where the flayed child lay whimpering, leading him to two seats that Harry had not previously noticed, set some distance away under that high, sparkling ceiling. Dumbledore sat down in one of them, and Harry fell into the other, staring at his old headmaster's face. Dumbledore's long silver hair and beard, the piercingly blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles, the crooked nose: Everything was as he had remembered it. And yet...

"But you're dead." said Harry. Only an hour ago he had been speaking to Dumbledore's portrait but he suddenly realised what a pale mirage the painting had been of the real life man.

"Oh yes," said Dumbledore matter-of-factly.

"Then ...I'm dead too?"

"Ah," said Dumbledore, smiling still more broadly. "That is the question, isn't it? On the whole, dear boy, I think not."

They looked at each other, the old man still beaming.

"Not?" repeated Harry.

"Not," said Dumbledore.

"But ..." Harry raised his hand instinctively towards the lightning scar. It did not seem to be there. "But I should have died—I dropped my wand. I didn't defend myself! I meant to let him kill me!"

"And that," said Dumbledore, "Will, I think, have made all the difference."

Happiness seemed to radiate from Dumbledore like light, like fire: Harry had never seen the man so utterly, so palpably, content.

"Explain," said Harry.

"But you already know," said Dumbledore. He twiddled his thumbs together.

"I let him kill me," said Harry. "Didn't I?"

"You did," said Dumbledore, nodding. "Go on!"

"So the part of his soul that was in me ..."

Dumbledore nodded still more enthusiastically, urging Harry onward, a broad smile of encouragement on his face.

"...has it gone?"

"Oh yes!" said Dumbledore. "Yes, he destroyed it. Your soul is whole, and completely your own, Harry."

"But then ..."

Harry glanced over his shoulder to where the small, maimed creature trembled under the chair.

"What is that, Professor?"

"Something that is beyond either of our help," said Dumbledore.

"But if Voldemort used the Killing Curse," Harry started again "and nobody died for me this time—how can I be alive?"

"I think you know," said Dumbledore. "Think back. Remember what he did, in his ignorance, in his greed and his cruelty."

Harry thought. He let his gaze drift over his surroundings. If this was indeed a palace in which they sat, it was an odd one, with chairs set in little rows and bits of railing here and there, and still, he and Dumbledore and the stunted creature under the chair were the only beings there. Then the answer rose to his lips easily, without effort.

"He took my blood." said Harry.

"Precisely!" said Dumbledore. "He took your blood and rebuilt his living body with it! Your blood in his veins, Harry, Lily's protection inside both of you! He tethered you to life while he lives!"

"I live ...while he lives! But I thought ...I thought it was the other way round! I thought we both had to die? Or is it the same thing?" He was distracted by the whimpering and thumping of the agonized creature behind them and glanced back at it yet again. "Are you sure we can't do anything?"

"There is no help possible."

"Then explain ...more," said Harry, and Dumbledore smiled. "You were the seventh horcrux, Harry and the horcrux he never meant to make. He had rendered his soul so unstable that it broke apart when he committed those acts of unspeakable evil, the murder of your parents, the attempted killing of a child. But what escaped from that room was even less than he knew. He left more than his body behind. He left part of himself latched to you, the would-be victim who had survived. And his knowledge remained woefully incomplete, Harry! That which Voldemort does not value, he takes no trouble to comprehend. Of house-elves and children's tales, of love, loyalty, and innocence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing. Nothing. That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped."

"He took your blood believing it would strengthen him. He took into his body a tiny part of the enchantment your mother laid upon you when she died for you. His body keeps her sacrifice alive, and while that enchantment survives, so do you and so does Voldemort's one last hope for himself."

Dumbledore smiled at Harry, and Harry stared at him. "And you knew this? You knew…all along?"

"I guessed. But my guesses have usually been good," said Dumbledore happily, and they sat in silence for what seemed like a long time, while the creature behind them continued to whimper and tremble.

"There's more," said Harry. "There's more to it. Why did you…I mean your portrait ask me to wait until after Voldemort had taken your wand. Why did he spend months tracking it down? What's so special about it?"

"Ah, yes," he said and the smile was wiped from his face. He even looked a little worried. "The Deathly Hallows, I had planned for you to come here already knowing about them. Why did you think I left Miss Granger that book…but alas the fates intervened and you were separated, tracking down and destroying the horcruxes before you could investigate the clues that lead you to the Hallows."

Harry frowned, this was the first he had ever heard of 'Hallows', he hadn't realised that he was supposed by investigating them _as well_ as horcruxes "I don't understand, if they are so important why did you not just tell me…why leave clues?"

For the first time since Harry had met Dumbledore, he looked less than an old man, much less. He looked fleetingly like a small boy caught in wrongdoing.

"Can you forgive me?" he said. "Can you forgive me for not trusting you? For not telling you? Harry, I only feared that you would fail as I had failed. I only dreaded that you would make my mistakes. I crave your pardon, Harry. I

have known, for some time now, that you are the better man."

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry, startled by Dumbledore's tone, by the sudden tears in his eyes.

"The Hallows, the Hallows," murmured Dumbledore. "A desperate man's dream!"

"But what are they!" Harry burst.

"Dangerous objects that lure fools into believing they can control death." Dumbledore said "Three brothers, three very gifted brothers named Perevell each created an object centuries ago they hoped would defeat Death, or at least that is what historians surmise. There are many myths and stories around the creation…one of which is in the book that I gave to Miss Granger."

"What were the objects?" Harry asked curiously although he had an idea about one of them.

"A wand that could never be defeated, a stone that brought loved ones back from the death and a cloak, a cloak of true invisibility that was rumoured to hide the wearer from even death himself." Dumbledore said. "The legend is that whoever masters all three will master death."

"And they're real?" Harry asked breathless with anticipation.  
"There is no magic that can truly bring back the dead, no wand that can never be defeated and no cloak could ever keep death from us forever. You know that Harry." Dumbledore said and Harry felt like he was warning him "But yes, the Hallows exist and are powerful in their own way."

Things were clicking into place, pieces of a puzzle Harry had never known existed. "The cloak…it's my cloak isn't it?" Harry guessed "My dad's cloak."

"I believe so yes, James had showed it to me just a few days previously. I asked to borrow it, to examine it and that is how it came into my possession when he died. It was a Cloak the likes of which I had never seen, immensely old, perfect in every respect." Dumbledore said, his tone was unbearably bitter. "Then I held two Hallows."

"The wand?" Harry guessed.

"It is possible to trace the Elder Wand through periods of history, it is powerful undoubtedly - a wand that can never be beaten will attract attention and often from less savoury characters." Dumbledore explained "It disappears from time to time but by the turn of the century somehow ended up in the possession of the wandmaker Gregorovitch. I believe any wandmaker would not be able to resist the temptation to reveal that they possessed the most infamous wand in history."

"Grindlewald stole it" Harry continued remembering the dreams he had had of Voldemort "Then you became its master when you defeated Grindlewald?"

"Indeed." Dumbledore seemed incredibly sad all of a sudden and Harry was startled to see there were tears in his eyes again. Harry suspected there was a great deal that Dumbledore was not telling him but before he could question further Dumbledore spoke "For you see Harry possession of a wand comes not from merely holding it but from winning it's allegiance. It is the wand that choses the wizard. Wandlore is a complex and mysterious area of study but in general we can say a wand cannot truly be possessed unless it is taken from its previous owner unwillingly."

"So that's why Dean couldn't use my…I mean Pettigrew's wand properly when I gave it to him but when he took it from me he was able to cast a patronus." Harry worked out.

"That certainly helped. We cannot of course discount Mr Thomas's own talent or what we are able to achieve in a desperate attempt for survival."

"I suppose it's a good thing I got it back from Dean when he was unconscious rather than waited for him to return it to me." Harry chuckled dryly "Otherwise he might still own my wand."

Dumbledore smiled broadly "A very fortuitous piece of luck if I do say so myself."

"And the stone." Harry asked, he dreaded the answer but could not help himself. He had already held himself back from asking about the Hallow that interested him the most "Do you know where it is?"

Dumbledore nodded reluctantly.

"It was the stone in the ring wasn't it…that's why you tried it on." Harry guessed eagerly "It's in the snitch isn't it? How do…"

"Harry." Dumbledore said kindly but firmly "Do remember six years ago, almost on this very night I told you that no magic could bring back the dead?"

Harry nodded and did not question further

"If you planned your death with Snape, you meant him to end up with the Elder Wand, didn't you?"

"I admit that was my intention," said Dumbledore, "but it did not work as I had intended, did it?"

"No," said Harry. "That bit didn't work out."

The creature behind them jerked and moaned, and Harry and Dumbledore sat without talking for the longest time yet. The realization of what would happen next settled gradually over Harry in the long minutes, like softly falling snow.

"I've got to go back, haven't I?"

"That is up to you."

"I've got a choice?"

"Oh yes." Dumbledore smiled at him. "You may as they say…go…On."

Silence again.

"Voldemort's got the Elder Wand."

"True. Voldemort has the Elder Wand."

"But you want me to go back?"

"I think," said Dumbledore, "That if you choose to return, there is a chance that he may be finished for good. I cannot promise it. But I know this, Harry that you have less to fear from returning here than he does."

Harry glanced again at the raw-looking thing that trembled and choked in the shadow beneath the distant chair.

"Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and above all, those who live without love. By returning, you may ensure that fewer souls are maimed, fewer families are torn apart. If that seems to you a worthy goal, then we say good-bye for the present."

Harry nodded and sighed. Leaving this place would not be nearly as hard as walking out of the forest had been, but it was warm and light and peaceful here, and he feared that he was heading back to pain and the fear of more loss.

He stood up, and Dumbledore did the same, and they looked for a long moment into each other's faces.

"Tell me one last thing," said Harry. "Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"

Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry's ears even though the bright white mist was descending again, obscuring his figure.

"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

oOoOoOo

He was lying face down on the ground again. His glasses had come off slightly in the fall and cut into the side of his cheek. The wet snow beneath him seeped through his clothes and drenched his skin in icy water. Overhead he could hear shouting and cracked an eyelid open to see a thousand colours fill the sky as Voldemort duelled Snape, Ron and Hermione over his prone body.

From his position he could only half see as Voldemort slashed the Elder Wand diagonally and a thousand shards of ice shot from it hurtling towards the other three. They were met in above him by a string of fire that melted the ice and sent a stream of luke warm water straight back down onto Harry.

"Harry Potter is dead. The battle is won." Voldemort cried "Give up now and I shall be merciful."

"Fat chance" Harry heard Ron snort, Ron spoke in his own voice – the meagre dregs of polyjuice potion they had taken must have worn off.

"I have no desire to spill magical blood, you have fought valiantly but are mere children." Voldemort hissed "Snape will die for his betrayal but surrender and I will teach you power beyond your darkest dreams."

Harry shifted a little, they hadn't seemed to notice he was awake yet and so he carefully pulled himself towards his wand which lay a few inches nearby. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that several windows in the castle were now lit.

Five blood red pythons flew out of Voldemort's wand sailing through the air with their fangs raised threateningly.

"_Aguamenti!_" Hermione cried and a ball of water erupted from her wand swallowing the pythons whole and flinging them into the nearby lake. "We'll die before joining you." She said. "And I'm a mudblood anyway."

Voldemort raised his wand directly and there was a savagery in his face that Harry knew meant he was done with party tricks.

He leapt to his feet, standing between Hermione, Ron, Snape and Voldemort and cried "_PROTEGO!_"

"Harry!" Hermione cried. "Potter" Snape whispered in disbelief. "Blimey, you're alive." Ron uttered in shock all at the same time.

"Don't do anything. Don't try to help me." Harry warned them "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."

"Potter doesn't mean that" Voldemort hissed from the other side of the shield charm "He has always hidden behind shields, first his mother, then Dumbledore and finally you, Severus. Well it ends tonight."

"That's right it does end tonight" Harry said "Because it was always going to be between us two. That's what the prophecy says isn't it – neither can live whilst the other survives and one of us is about to leave for good"

"And so you plan to kill me Harry Potter?" Voldemort mocked in a silky voice "Foolish boy, do you not know I have conquered death. An accident by your filthy mudblood mother struck me down once before but I arose stronger and more powerful than ever."

Snape stepped forward angrily "_Avada…_"

"Wait!" Harry shouted "It was no accident and you have not conquered death" And then he whispered "We found them."

Voldemort did not speak, but prowled in a circle, and Harry knew that he kept him temporarily mesmerized and at bay, held back by the faintest possibility that Harry might indeed know his darkest secret.

"We found and destroyed them all." Harry spoke calmly "Not just the diary, not just the snake but the cup and the locket and diadem as well."

"LIAR!" Voldemort roared and without raising his wand attempted to split open his mind and read his thoughts. But he could not for he had killed the part of himself that had lived in Harry Potter.

"Ron the blood traitor found the lost diadem of Ravenclaw in the Room of Requirement and destroyed it. Hermione the mudblood found Hufflepuff's cup in the Lestrange vault and destroyed it." Harry continued "Regulus Black was revolted when he discovered what you did and how you treated a house elf to do it; he took the locket and gave it to Kreacher, giving his life in the process. I found it again and destroyed it."

"They are gone." Harry finished "You are mortal."

"Then I shall make more" Voldemort spat "I shall make a thousand more horcruxes and scatter them across the globe. Do you really believe you can defeat me tonight boy when I hold the Elder Wand, taken from Dumbledore who was killed on my orders?"

"Do you really think Snape just suddenly decided to switch sides?" Harry frowned "He has never been yours; he was always Dumbledore's. They planned his death together."

"And so Dumbledore's plan to make Snape master of the Elder Wand failed" Voldemort said triumphantly "If Dumbledore ordered Snape to kill him then Snape could never truly take possession of the Elder Wand as I have done tonight when I stole it from his feeble dead hands. I removed it from its last master against his wishes. Its power is mine."

"No it's not" Harry contradicted as they continued to circle each other "You cannot take the wand from Dumbledore as it was not Dumbeldore's at his death. Dumbledore died defeated…not by Snape…but by a scared teenager who disarmed him right before his death…by Draco Malfoy."  
Behind him he heard Hermione gasp in comprehension.

Blank shock showed in Voldemort's face but then it was gone "But what does it matter?" he said softly. "Even if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: We duel on skill alone ...and after I have killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy..."

"But you're too late," said Harry. "You've missed your chance. Peter Pettigrew disarmed Malfoy the night he escaped with Sirius and Hermione from Cathrack Tor." He held up his own wand and raised it at Voldemort "And this is Wormtail's wand…I took it from him before he died."

"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" whispered Harry. "Does the wand in your hand know its last two masters were defeated? Because if it does ...I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

There was a distant bang and far above them the great oak doors burst open and light flooded out onto the lawn.

Harry heard the high voice shriek as he too yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Wormtail's wand.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

"_Expelliarmus!_"

The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead centre of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Harry saw Voldemort's green jet meet his own spell, saw the Elder Wand fly high, dark against the moonlight and torchlight from the school, spinning through the air toward the master it would not kill, who had come to take full possession of it at last. And Harry, with the unerring skill of a Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed, the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upward. Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken, the white hands empty, the snakelike face vacant and unknowing. Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry stood with two wands in his hands, staring down at his enemy's shell.

One shivering second of silence, the shock of the moment suspended all and then Snape spoke.

"Well Mr Potter, it appears you aren't completely useless after all."

.

**Thank you to JK Rowling, as you will have seen there are a few parts in this chapter that are actually her amazing words. Its only since I started writing this story did I fully appreciate how difficult it is seamlessly fitting together all the different parts about horcruxes, hallows and wand ownership together and still creating an entertaining story.**

**Please let me know what you think of my attempt at putting all these pieces together (in a slightly different way) as****well as this chapter and the story in general so far. **

**All criticism welcome.**


	29. Disappearance of the Dark Mark

Hermione stared numbly at the slain body of the snake like creature that had been Voldemort. He looked smaller somehow now, frail and weak - it suddenly struck Hermione that Riddle must have been at least in his sixties.

"Are we sure he's dead?" Ron asked awkwardly.

"He must be." Harry replied "There's a body, there wasn't a body last time was there?"

He addressed the question to Snape but Snape didn't answer, instead he was rolling up the sleeve of his left arm to reveal a bare forearm. The Dark Mark had vanished – Voldemort's magic had died with him.

"He is dead." Snape confirmed.

Snape's words shook Hermione out of her state of shock and she hit Harry hard on the arm.

"Oww" Harry rubbed the spot where she'd struck him again "What was that for?"

"Don't you ever do something like that again Harry Potter!" She ordered him crossly trying to keep tears at bay as she remembered his body crumpling to the ground from the killing curse.

"What die?" Harry attempted to joke but it fell flat.

"You coming back better have been part of the plan the whole time." Ron warned seriously.

Harry and Snape looked at each other and Harry replied "It was."

Hermione got the feeling they weren't hearing the whole story "But why didn't you…" She started but was cut off by a very angry and very familiar voice.

"SEVERUS SNAPE! You step away from those children right now!" Professor McGonagall was charging down the path towards the lake with her wand aloft and wearing a terrifying expression of righteous anger.

She was followed by Professors Flitwick, Sprout, Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott of all people. All of the group had their wands raised and directed at Snape as they ran towards them and a second later Hermione realised they had awoken Hagrid for the half giant was also bounding towards them quickly catching up thanks to his long strides.

Hermione craned her neck to the castle and saw many of the windows were lit.

"Snape! You despicable, lying traitor, how dare you…" McGonagall ranted and in her haste she almost tripped over the dead body of Voldemort. "Is that…is that…"

"Oh dear" Hermione said and lit her wand to add to the light given by the moonlight "Hello Professor McGonagall."

"Alright Neville." Ron and Harry greeted cheerfully.

"Blimey" Neville whispered, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

"Is that..." Flitwick began.

"...You Know Who..." Hannah whispered in awe

"...dead?" Hagrid finished in astonishment.

"Harry defeated him" Hermione explained brightly.

"And we helped" Ron added.

"You helped defeat Voldemort Severus?" Professor McGonagall questioned in consternation "That's impossible."

"I had no idea you were so fond of the Dark Lord Minerva." Snape drawled "Had we known we would have waited for you to say goodbye."

McGonagall glared at him scathingly "You cannot just keep switching sides whenever..." she begun but it was hard to hear the rest of the tirade of the multitude of questions that suddenly burst forth from the others.

"Where have yer been Harry?" Hagrid asked "I was worried. Running away from the Lupins like that..."

"Where's Luna? Did you manage to get into Azkaban?" Neville asked.

"Are we sure he's dead?" Hannah looked warily at the body.

"But how?" Flitwick spluttered "Killing curses have never worked on He Who must not be Named before."

"Have you three been hiding the castle the whole time?" Sprout shot off quickly "Severus, you were on our side? Does this mean that Dumbledore is not really dead?"

Sprout's last question drew everyone else's attention and they instantly fell into a hushed silence waiting for Snape to answer.

"Dumbledore is dead." Snape answered heavily "I killed him...

"At his own request" Ron piped up and then only slightly cowed from Snape's glare at his interruption added "He was dying anyway you see."

"Ron's right" Hermione supported "Dumbledore's portrait told us himself."

"Dumbledore's portrait is awake?" McGonagall was taken aback.

"And as irritating as its real life counterpart was." Snape snapped "But we don't have time for this. You can question the portrait and investigate my allegiances at length later. In three hours the sun will rise and Death Eaters will wake to find that their Dark Marks have vanished. It will not take them long to work out that the Dark Lord is dead."

"Snape's right" Harry agreed "We don't have much time to catch them before they go underground."

"Or carry out reprisal attacks" Neville added darkly "They did last time." And Hermione remembered that the Longbottoms had not been tortured until after Voldemort had fallen the first time.

"Very well, Hagrid summon the Order" McGonagall ordered taking charge in a very business-like fashion.

"Right o', Pr'fesser." Hagrid said and thundered of to his cabin, the ground shaking as he went.

"Filius, Ponoma we will need to make sure no news of this reaches the outside world until we no longer need the element of surprise. You will need to cut off the floo network and guard the Owlery." McGonagall paused thoughtfully "It might be worth keeping an eye on the Slytherins as well, do you have any objection Professor Snape?"

"None whatsoever."

"Very well, ask Horace to help you, we should be able to rely on him now the danger is gone to the school"

Sprout and Flitwick both nodded "Of course" and "Right away Minerva" before hurrying back up to the school.

"Longbottom, Miss Abbott we will also need you to summon Dumbledore's Army" then McGonagall frowned sternly "But only those of age."

"Yeah, only those of age." Harry and Ron agreed quickly and Hermione knew they were both thinking of Ginny and perhaps Luna too.

Neville and Hannah nodded and were just about to return to the school when Snape stopped them.

"One moment Longbottom." He demanded striding up to tower over Neville which was difficult considering Neville seemed to have grown a lot since Hermione had last saw him. Snape managed nevertheless as his black cloak billowed impressively and he gave Neville a cowering sneer. "I have something to say to you."

"Longbotton, you have been a nuisance since your first day at this school; you have been abysmal in classes, disrupted lessons, destroyed school equipment and in general been an embarrassment to your peers, your house and this school." Snape hissed and several people took an intake of breath at the sudden apparent cruelty "This year you went further, you have vandalised the school, attacked teachers, broken every rule possible and brought others into your disreputable behaviour. You have been rude, belligerent and have attempted to sabotage almost every attempt I made to protect the student body of this school, succeeding at several times to put other children in danger."

There was a tense pulsating pause during which time Neville gulped "Ye...Yeah well..." He started obviously more bravely than he felt "What are you going to do about it?"

"I tell you what I'm going to do about it." Snape hissed dangerously "I'm going to make you...Head Boy."

"You and who's arm..." Neville started to fight back before Snape's final words sunk in and he went very pale. Hermione thought he was going to faint, Hannah evidently did too for she held his arm in support "Hea...Head Boy?"

Harry and Ron burst out laughing and even Hermione couldn't help but smile.

"Yes it is a tedious and time consuming role that is a fit punishment for all the trouble you have caused me." Snape drawled casually "Miss Abbott has been just as must a delinquent so I suppose she should be Head Girl."

Hannah gave a high pitched squeak "Really?" she asked excitedly.

"I cannot think of two students who deserve it more." Professor McGonagall echoed. Harry, Ron and Hermione all congratulated the pair heartily "I do feel sorry for Miss Parkinson and Mr Nott."

"They will get over it." Snape said carelessly "They will have enough to worry about after tonight."

"Speaking of which...what do we do with that?" Ron nodded to Voldemort's corpse that still lay between them on the ground as Neville and Hannah ran back up to the school.

Hermione met Harry's eyes as they looked at the body with contempt. She knew what he was thinking - that Voldemort could not rise again.

"Incendio" They both pointed their wands at the corpse and it burst into blood red flames.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Snape and Professor McGonagall watched as the flames burned and shrivelled away grey snakelike skin and robes until Voldemort was no more.

oOoOoOo

"You're mad. We're about to fight Death Eaters and you..." Ron spluttered in astonishment "You are absolutely barking."

They were walking down the stone spiral staircase from the Headmaster's office where they had gone to tell Dumbledore's portrait the good news. Whilst they were there Harry had also filled them in on the Deathly Hallows.

"So if Wormtail hadn't have disarmed Draco and you hadn't run into Wormtail..." Hermione said stringing together the trail of the Elder wand "Even if Dean hadn't fallen unconscious on the boat and just given your wand back to you...wow...we were really lucky."

"It was fate, Harry was always meant to do the Dark Lord in" Ron shrugged "It said so in the prophecy."

"Harry's just told you that's not what the prophecy meant" Hermione scolded him "And there's no such thing as fate."

Ron ignored her and turned to Harry in exasperation as they walked to the staff room "But did you have to destroy it?" He complained "You could have given it to me. I'm stuck with Carrow's stinky wand till I get mine back from Luna."

Harry had broken the Elder Wand in two after using it to repair his own Holly wand in the Headmaster's Office. He told them after the fight he would put the pieces back in Dumbledore's grave.

"I like my wand" Harry said loyally "Besides that wand was more trouble than its worth."

"But it would have been fascinating to test it out just a little." Hermione bemoaned even though she knew Harry was right "To see if the legends are true. I still can't believe that _The Tale of Three Brothers_ was based partly in fact...I wonder if the library has any books on the Perevells."

Ron and Harry smirked. "One thing at a time." Harry advised pushing the door open to the staff room.

Hermione had never been inside the staff room before; it was warm with a roaring fire and squishy arm chairs that reminded her of the Gryffindor common room. Except that the crests of all four houses hung over the fireplace and the curtains and hangings were a deep rich purple.

It was also much bigger than the Headmaster's Office which was fortunate because it was currently bursting to the seams with members of the Order, Dumbledore's Army and Hogwarts staff.

In the centre was a large table where Kingsley, Snape, Remus Lupin and Mr Weasley stood muttering over long scrolls of parchment, some of which looked like maps. Mrs Weasley was standing by the fireplace having a very heated discussion with Ginny on whether she could fight and Sirius was following Professor McGonagall around as she handed out instructions.

"Do you really believe we can trust him, just like that?"

"For Merlin's sake Sirius." McGonagall rolled her eyes "You heard it from Dumbledore's portrait itself."

In the corner Fred and George Weasley were changing out of their pajamas and into robes and laughing with Lee Jordan. Ernie MacMillan was also dressing having apparently been caught by the summons unawares, he was doing so very awkwardly as he was trying to change whilst levitating his dressing gown in front of him for privacy.

Bill was going around checking people's wands whilst Fleur and Percy were handing out cups of tea and slices of toast.

Professor Sprout, Dedaldus Diggle and Elphias Doge were having a very animated discussion with what appeared to be the barman at the Hog's Head. And Cho Chang, Angelina Johnson and Terry Boot were looking over defense books together and pointing things out.

"Wow, how long were we?" Ron asked quietly apparently as shocked as Hermione that almost everyone they knew had seemingly materialised and begun organising in the short time that they had been in the Headmaster's Office.

Hermione spotted Draco standing off awkwardly to one side not talking to anyone. She felt her heart beat a little faster at seeing him and made a little wave but he looked in the other direction avoiding her eye.

Charlie Weasley was the next person to realise they had entered the room. "OI Everybody! They're here!"

The noisy chatter and serious discussions died down to a hush as the fifty or so people turned to look at them. Then somebody, and Hermione suspected it might have been Neville, began to clap. Other people joined in and before they knew it applause was thundering throughout the room and people were rushing up to congratulate them.

Lots of people started shaking their hands and patting them on the back, mostly Harry but Hermione was hugged by a few people she had never spoken to.

"Good show." Ernie MacMillan praised "Always knew you'd do it. Didn't I say Susan, Potter will do it, didn't I?"

"Can't tell you have happy I am" Sturgis Podmore gushed "When Snape showed me the Dark Mark had gone I'm not ashamed to say I burst into tears."

"About time you showed up." Bill joked.

"Oh you are zo brave" Fleur praised "And zo young, I sought you must be killed because you are zo young."

Mrs Weasley elbowed her way to the front and swept them all up in a big hug "I've never been so terrified, so relieved and so proud." She wept.

Once she had released them Harry almost ran to greet Sirius and Ginny and Ron was nearly crushed in a hug sandwich between his father and Percy.

"I was such an idiot, such a fool." Percy moaned "Can you ever forgive me; I tried to rescue you I really did..."

"That's really alright." Ron said trying to pry himself free so he could go and greet Luna who had just flooed into the fireplace with a much healthier looking Dean.

"Hey Granger!" Fred Weasley came up behind her and ruffled up her already tangled bushy hair "Thanks for saving ickle Ronnikins for us."

"Oi!" Ron yelled somehow able to hear halfway across the room.

"We'll try not to take it too personally that you abandoned us in the middle of the night broken hearted." George added appearing on her other side.

"Not that we worried when you left without a note of course." Fred continued airily "Our Hermione's a free spirit we said, there's no tying her down."

"It's completely like her to just vanish without saying a word."

"No need to panic or call out a search party, Miss Responsibility's just disappeared into thin air, that's all."

Hermione took no notice as they joked either side of her; instead her attention was drawn straight ahead to where Draco was standing by the window pointedly looking out.

George noticed where her gaze was directed and said "Although Fred and I may not have been the most broken hearted." And the two left to join the growing number of Weasleys crowding around Ron.

Hermione took a deep breath and approached Draco, on her way passing Harry and Ginny who were holding onto each other very tightly.

"Hello" She smiled tentatively.

Draco raised his head and met her eyes, his own were closed off "Granger." He nodded perfunctorily as if they were mere acquaintances.

"I…" Hermione stuttered and then suddenly words were gushing out of her "I know what you must be thinking and Fred and George have just told me off but I didn't mean to disappear….You see Dumbledore left this object called a Deluminator to Ron and we didn't know what it was and somehow it ended up with me. But I didn't know what it did, I promise, I was just examining it that night because I was thinking about Ron…not that I think about Ron…he's just my friend and I was only thinking about him because he's my friend and he was in Azkaban. Then somehow the Deluminator took me to Azkaban…" she didn't mention that she heard Ron calling her name through the Deluminator as she didn't think that would help "…I swear I didn't ask it to and I wouldn't have touched if I knew it could do that. Well I probably would have because he's my friend…"she admitted "But I definitely would have told you and the twins first and I would have planned first properly because trust me it was _not _my intention to arrive in Azkaban unprepared."

She said all of this very quickly and when she was finished waited anxiously for Malfoy's reaction. His face was hard to read, it was a still as stone betraying nothing and the Black high cheekbones did not even twitch.

Finally he gave a careless shrug and simply said "Whatever."

Hermione frowned "Whatever?" she repeated feeling more than a bit irritated at his reaction or lack thereof "Is that all you have to say?"

"Look Granger what you do is your own business." Malfoy drawled as though he was very bored by the whole thing "If you want to run off and save Weasley then be my guest, you don't owe me any explanation. The only reason I'm here is for my parents."

Hermione felt like she had been slapped "You seemed to think it was your business when…" she started angrily but was interrupted a loud banging on the table in the centre of the room and McGonagall clearing her throat.

"Thank you everybody, can I have your attention please." She called everyone to a hush her commanding Scottish brogue "I want to thank you for all coming here tonight, or rather this morning as it soon will be, on such short notice. As you will be aware by now Voldemort…" several people shivered at the name "…has been defeated…" several others cheered "…thank you. But his followers remain at large and we have little time if we are to strike before they realise, that is to say…the game is up. Kingsley…"

"Thank you Professor." Kingsley said before addressing the room at large "Not all of you will remember the chaos that followed the first war, in the celebrations wizards let their guard down and Death Eaters and others that followed Voldemort lashed out or attempted to regain control. They carried out despicable revenge attacks that caused terrible consequences. This time has the potential to be worse."

"This time Death Eaters took control of the Ministry, they introduced their own laws, dark creatures were given unparalleled freedoms to use muggle areas as their hunting grounds – they will not give up without a fight." Snape warned "Some will destroy evidence and claim to have been under the Imperius Curse and some will flee but others will die seeking revenge and there are a few who will attempt to take the Dark Lord's place and retain control of the Wizarding World. They will be a rallying point for others."

"Which is why we need to strike now, before they are aware Voldemort has been defeated, whilst many of them still sleep and have yet to notice the Dark Mark has faded." Kingsley continued and Hermione couldn't help but glance down at Draco's arm, it was covered by a long black sleeve.

Kingsley picked up one of the scrolls from the table "We will carry out three strikes." He announced "Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape will lead the largest team to Malfoy Manor, Voldemort's headquarters to secure the Death Eaters Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy. Lestrange is highly dangerous and will likely try to fight to the death, hopefully by catching her unawares we can prevent that. We believe Malfoy may be more cooperative." His eyes drifted in Draco's direction who shifted uncomfortably.

"Once Lestrange, Malfoy and the headquarters have been secured I will lead a small team to capture Demetrius Yaxley in his home in Chester. The others will split up into pairs and each be assigned a Death Eater to arrest." McGonagall continued.

"Meanwhile I shall lead a team to take back the Ministry of Magic; once the building is secure we will signal that prisoners can start to be brought to the Ministry to be held in its cells." Kingsley announced "We will also call an emergency session of the Wizengamot with the intention of removing Pius Thickness as Minister for Magic and making all of this err…legal."

There was a small titter that went round the room.

"Remus." Kingsley gestured for the werewolf.

"Bill and I will head the final team to Diagon Alley. I will lead a smaller team into Knockturn Alley where Fenrir Greyback and a few other assortments of unobliging werewolves, vampires and hags are based. These too will be transferred to Ministry cells on Kingsley's signal. Once they have been transferred we will rejoin the rest of the team in Diagon Alley outside Gringotts."

"We estimate that by this time word of You Know Who's defeat will have got out" Bill explained "We expect many Death Eaters and other followers to head to Gringotts before their accounts are frozen in order to support them on the run. Unfortunately goblins don't celebrate Christmas and therefore the bank will be open. Also unfortunately they don't tend to listen former employees and will serve anyone unless they are in debt or the account has been frozen by a Ministry Decree."

Bill took a deep breath "This means that until the accounts are frozen we expect a large number of Death Eaters and followers to head to Gringotts first on learning of the fall of You Know Who."

"It is for this reason that we are asking you to please join Bill's team outside Gringotts once you have completed your own missions." McGonagall added.

At some point during the instructions Hermione had a better chance to take in the room around her and she realised that most of the people here were in Dumbledore's Army not the Order of the Phoenix. This, she realised, was not because Order members had not answered the call but over the past two years several had been murdered.

Most of the people fighting tonight had never been in a real duel before.

Hermione looked at Draco who was still avoiding her eye and marched up to Snape "I would like to go to Malfoy Manor." she announced.

"Me too" Harry appeared by her side, along with Ron.

People were milling about now either being asking to be in certain teams or picked by team leaders.

Snape who was looking intently down had his scroll said "Granger yes, Potter, Weasley out of the question.

Hermione smiled whilst Harry and Ron spluttered angry indignations.

"We're just as good duellers as Hermione" Ron said "In fact I reckon we're better than a lot of people here."

"And I've fought Bellatrix before, we know what to expect." Harry argued.

Before Snape could answer however Kingsley appeared and said "Potter, I need you and Longbottom with me."

"But I..." Harry started to protest.

"I know it might not be as glamorous as Voldemort's headquarters or Knockturn Alley." Kingsley drawled "But if we are to convince the Wizengamot that Voldemort has been defeated and new legislation is needed quickly, the boy who lived...twice...can help with that."

"Couldn't I..."

"Plus I need you to vote." Kingsley added casually.

"Vote?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Yes you and Longbottom have inherited seats in the Wizengamot from your fathers, didn't you know?"

"Rich pureblood families have often held ancestral seats in the Wizengamot" Snape said mockingly "It's your birth right Potter."

"Harry that's really useful… if not incredibly undemocratic and elitest."

"I'm sorry Miss Granger, you were under the impression that the wizarding world was democratic?" Snape mocked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry, it appeared, was still coming to terms with the fact he could vote on laws in the highest legislative body in the country.

"What about me?" Ron asked "What do you need me to do?"

"We need you in Diagon Alley." Snape smirked "Your mother wants you with her."

"Is it just me or are you really starting to miss the old miserable Snape?" Ron muttered as they walked away from the table where others were beginning to crowd to get their orders.

"Well..." Harry started patting his hands by his side awkwardly "It looks like we're going to be split up again."

Hermione and Ron's faces fell as they realised this was indeed true.

"Oh come here" she burst and wrapped her arms around both of them which was difficult to do as both Harry and Ron were much taller than her. They hugged her back.

"Come back safe." She said, her words muffled a little by a mouthful of Harry's jumper.

"We'll see you on the other side." Harry promised quietly.

"And you can both give me my Christmas presents." Ron joked and the other two gave strained laughs as they parted. People were moving about more decisively now lining up against the fireplace to use the floo.

"Posts everyone!" McGonagall called.

.

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story so far (both positive and negative reviews welcome)**


	30. The Order and DA Fight Back

The chimes of Big Ben rang distantly announcing the arrival of five o'clock in the morning on Christmas Day. Harry and Sirius were crouched down just below street level in the steps that led to an underground toilet block. The pair popped their heads up just to the bottom of the bottom of the black spiked railings that bordered the steps, keeping a look out on either side. Harry squinted down Whitehall past foggy orange street lights and saw the great blue lit Christmas tree that towered over Trafalgar Square.

Inside the toilet block Kingsley's team were entering the Ministry one at a time with the aid of Percy, who unfortunately only had two entry tokens. They were assembling in the Atrium which according to Percy appeared to be deserted for the moment.

Harry found himself thinking of Ginny and his last words to her.

_"I'm really angry with you." she said after she had finished crushing his ribcage in a hug, "How could you disappear like that? I thought you might be dead or injured or something. You didn't even come back for Sirius and don't say you didn't know he was alive because you've been with Hermione."_

_Sirius, who was watching them sniggered._

_"I literally ran into Hermione three days ago." Harry protested and then realising he wasn't helping his cause "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you, it was just something I had to do..."_

_"On your own." Ginny finished for him "Yes, I know, I've heard all that rot before." But her words were angrier than her tone and he dared hope that she was at least a little pleased to see him._

_"I'm sorry, I really am." Harry impressed "Sirius you too, I was such an idiot, I should have gone after you...I should have looked for you...we should have checked the veil."_

_"And have you fall into the clutches of Bellatrix Lestrange!" Sirius snorted "No thanks. All I want is for you to be safe and have a normal life and if McGonagall, Kingsley, Remus and...Snape apparently...well if their plan works then that might actually happen."_

_"You're not going to go after her?" Harry asked hoping that was not the case. It was bad enough Hermione was going with Snape and McGonagall but at least she wasn't reckless or had a habit of being defeated by Bellatrix._

_Sirius gave a bark of laughter "Ha! And leave you unguarded – I think Ginny might kill me. I won't mind admitting that I'd like to keep an eye on Snape whilst I've got the chance."_

_"Sirius..." Harry warned him "He really is on our side." He wanted to know how much of his mother's friendship with Snape Sirius and Remus knew about - and how much they had hidden from him._

_But now was not the time._

_"Please don't do anything stupid or heroic." Ginny begged him as they said goodbye in front of the fireplace "You've already defeated Voldemort, you don't need to do anything else to impress everyone."_

_"I don't care about everyone." Harry whispered in her ear as they hugged "But I'll keep trying to impress you till the day I die." he promised._

_"Oh I am so angry at you for saying that." Ginny scolded and pulled him into a fierce kiss that ended after Seamus's wolf whistling got a bit too much to take._

Ginny was now back at Hogwarts helping Luna, Tonks and Madam Pomfrey prepare the Hospital Wing and taking it in turns to patrol the corridors with the other teachers in order to prevent whispers leaking out of the school. Ginny and Tonks had argued, ranted and fought about not being allowed to join the fight but in the end it couldn't be helped. Tonks was almost six months pregnant and Ginny and Luna were still sixteen, they still had the trace on them and were therefore too much of a risk.

"Ready Harry?" Percy asked and Harry was shaken from his reverie.

"Oh so you're taking Harry first?" Sirius asked "What makes him so special?"

"Well I'm certainly not going to let the Chosen One alone in a deserted stairwell." Percy said indignantly seemingly unaware that Sirius was joking.

"Please don't call me that." Harry begged.

Percy was the only person Harry had ever heard use the phrase 'Chosen One' seriously. Percy reluctantly agreed and led him to the toilets which had graffiti on the wall and smelled strongly of urine.

"It's not the most pleasant experience I'm afraid." Percy advised handing him a small token he had stolen from a colleague in cases of emergencies.

"I just flush myself down?" Harry asked grimly, checking just in case he had been horribly mistaken.

"I'm afraid so" Percy nodded "Look on the bright side, at least you haven't been doing it five days a week for the last five months."

Of all the good things that had come from his tortuous weeks on the run, missing out on flushing himself down a toilet had never exactly occurred to Harry.

He used the token to open the cubicle and then feeling rather stupid stepped into the toilet bowl and pulled the chain. The next moment it was like a hook had been placed in his sternum and he was yanked down forcefully into the toilet spinning round rapidly as he travelled down a small chute and fell into a fireplace in the Ministry of Magic atrium.

"Alright there Harry?" Mr Weasley asked giving him a hand up off the green tiled floor. In the fireplace next to him Percy span back out of view on his way to fetch Sirius.

Harry's eye was drawn to the centre of the atrium where the Fountain of Magical Brethren had been replaced by something horrible. A large black monolith loomed over them all dominated by a proud looking witch and wizard in large ornate thrones built of hundreds of squirming, contorted and ugly looking humans Harry only could suppose were meant to be muggles. At the base of the statue read the words MAGIC IS MIGHT.

"Ghastly isn't it?" Mr Weasley said soberly noticing where Harry was looking "I hope that's the first thing to go."

"I'll back you on that Arthur." Kingsley concurred.

"Are there no guards?" Harry asked looking around.

"There were a couple, we took care of them." Kingsley replied and nodded to where Ernie MacMillan and Susan Bones were finishing tying and gagging a couple of nasty looking Death Eaters.

"Oh hello Rowle!" Sirius greeted happily spinning into place in one of the fireplaces along with Percy "Bet you never thought you'd see me again."

Rowle made muffled angry noises behind his mask.

"We'll put them in cells later." Kingsley announced to his group "Percy you know what to do. Sirius, Harry, Miss Abbott with me."

Neville grasped Hannah's hand and kissed her cheek before following Percy, Mr Weasley and the others to the lifts where they were to clear the upper floors leaving Rowle and his companion under the watchful gaze of Elphias Doge and Oliver Wood. Hannah noticeably blushed and Harry tried to hide a smile.

"Wands ready" Kingsley strode through the Ministry, his rich purple and gold embroidered robes flowing behind him, towards a small corridor off to the side that led to a staircase. Harry, Hannah and Sirius jogged behind him.

"I didn't even know the Ministry had stairs." Sirius quipped as they ran faster down the staircase.

"Shh." Kingsley hushed holding out an arm to stall them as they suddenly reached the bottom of the stairs "They won't expect us to come this way but they can still hear us." He whispered.

They were in the bowels of the Ministry now, the torches that lined the walls were no more and they saw their way through the darkness only by the light of Sirius's wand. They were on Level 10 now where the courtrooms were…and the cells. As they crept along silently a familiar unnatural chill that descended over him and feeling of despair begun to waft into the corridors like a cruel fog.

"On my count" Kingsley nodded to Sirius.

"Agreed" Sirius nodded back and he and Harry took a different path to the others. Harry could feel the dementors even more keenly than before; he longed for his patronus and felt his knees wobble a bit at their closeness. If Kingsley was right, they were only in the next corridor.

"Are you ok?" Sirius put a hand on Harry's shoulder with concern "You don't have to do this, I can take care of this lot by myself…you've already done more than anyone could have asked for."

"I'm fine…I can do it." Harry gulped, it had been a long time since he had been this close to dementors without his patronus and he hated the fact that they still affected him so much worse than others. Somehow though being with Sirius again and hearing his concern gave him a boost of strength he had not felt since he had first woken up in Aunt Marge's house and she had decided to help him. He felt the familiar pang of guilt as he remembered Marge again.

Guilt was something they did not have time for as they reached the entranced of a long dark passage lit by ghostly blue flames. Lining the passage on either side were cells with spiked iron bars in which sallow looking people shivered on wooden benches. The passageway was patrolled by eight dementors that glided back and forth their long black cloaks concealing their eyeless faces and cruel mouths.

The hopelessness seeped into Harry, _fight it, _he told himself and willed himself to think of Ginny, Sirius, Aunt Marge and Ron and Hermione who at this moment needed him to secure the Ministry.

"NOW!" Kingsley's voice boomed from the other end of the passage.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_" Harry and Sirius yelled together and a brilliant silver stag and burly shaggy dog leapt from their wands and charged at the dementors. At the other end of the passage silver light grew revealing charging spectral lynx and a tiny but fiercely glowing silver frog bounding in the opposite direction.

The dementors screamed, or at least scream was the best word Harry could think to describe it – it sounded more the pained screech of fingernails on a blackboard that made Harry wince. The patronuses knocked down the dementors sending them flying before rounding them up again and circling them keeping them trapped in a swirl of silver mist and vapour.

"That is one impressive frog." Harry told Hannah as they met her and Kingsley in the middle the dementors now restrained.

"Thank you" Hannah smiled "Oh…Mrs MacMillan!"

She ran to greet a very thin woman who was struggling to get off the wooden bench in her cell and reach her. Ernie's mother was dressed in very fine robes that had frayed and stained in the conditions she now found herself in.

It was not just Harry that felt much better with the restraint of the dementors. Many of the prisoners were now stumbling to their feet, rubbing their eyes and whispering to each other with disbelief

"My word…Harry Potter", "…come to save us…" "Kingsley is that you?"

"Sirius, mate…yer're alive…I always knew I could count on yer."

"Alright Dung!" Sirius greeted the petty criminal cheerfully leaning up against the wall outside of his cell "I hear you've been stealing from me."

Whilst Mundungus Fletcher was the sort of low life Harry would have expected to find in custody he was beginning to worry about the other not so likely criminals, particularly Mrs MacMillan who seemed to be having trouble standing upright.

"Can't we at let them out?" He asked Kingsley.

"Not yet." Kingsley advised "I know it's difficult but along with the muggleborns and rebels these cells may contain some actual criminals…even if they were only captured by accident."

Mrs MacMillan did not have to wait much longer for a few minutes later Ernie was running towards them followed by Percy Weasley striding quickly with an important looking clipboard and quill.

"Mum!" Ernie cried greeting his mother behind bars who began to weep at the sight of her son "It's all over, Harry did it, Harry defeated You Know Who! We're going to get you out!"

"Did you encounter any resistance?" Kingsley asked Percy.

"We found two dementors on Level 1 and four guards between the rest of the levels sir. All have been restrained." Percy reported now truly in his element back in the Ministry "My father and Neville Longbottom are sealing off the private floos in the offices right now."

"Excellent, we'll need to alert the others that Ministry is secure and safe for them to bring their captives." Kingsley said.

"I was trying to rescue these muggleborns see." Mundungus was explaining to Sirius who was nodding along with a smirk "It just wasn't right, so I said to myself 'Dung you have to do something, do your bit for Harry Potter' and so I was duelling with these Death Eaters when…"

"It says here you punched the landlord of The Green Dragon after he caught you selling Venomous Tentacula seeds in his pub." Percy frowned as he read off his clipboard.

"Ah…now what you have to understand about that it…" Mundungus started spluttering in defence.

"Release all those that have been charged with _non-violent _crimes." Kingsley ordered Percy who started with Mrs MacMillan at Ernie's insistence "Miss Abbott, please would you take any released prisoners to the canteen on Level 7 with Mr MacMillan. The house elves usually keep a good stock of chocolate biscuits and cakes there."

"Yes Mr Shacklebolt." Hannah nodded.

"Harry, if you'll please come with me. We need to call the Wizengamot." Kingsley said.

oOoOoOo

Malfoy Manor was a handsome stately home of ornately carved Doric entablature, classical panelling and a hundred darkened diamond paned windows. It sat at the end of long snow covered lawn in the middle of which stood a gleaming three tiered white marble fountain. The grounds were circled by tall neatly trimmed hedges and impressive gold and iron wrought gates.

"You live there?" Lee Jordan whistled as they looked down at it from a small hill nearby "Not bad, Malfoy, not bad at all."

"Thanks." Draco muttered sullenly.

"Less chatter please Mr Jordan." Professor McGonagall called as she inspected Cho Chang's broom "Severus, you will need to send a patronus when the wards are down."

"Of course." Snape nodded stiffly "Draco, Miss Granger…let's go."

"Hold up, wait for me." Hagrid boomed bounding along behind them as Draco led Hermione and Snape into the small muggle church.

"Are you coming with us Hagrid?" Hermione asked happily.

"Yer don't expect me to fit on a broom do yer?" Hagrid joked.

"Not without breaking it." Snape sneered cruelly and Hermione wondered if it was just his dour personality or if he felt as though Hagrid was there to keep an eye on him and that his loyalty could not still be truly relied upon.

The church itself was small with only a handful of wooden pews, a bare altar and some simple designs in the stain glass windows.

Draco hovered his wand over the wide stone flags in front of the alter and whispered "_Mon Or et Mon Droit._" The flags groaned as they moved, dust fell into the growing black hole that emerged and fell onto the stone steps that lay below.

"We haven't used this in a while." Malfoy explained as they all started coughing when the entered the tunnel below the church. Thick heavy cobwebs hung arched ceiling and there was a scuttle of rats and spiders in the distance.

"Charming." Snape sneered "And to think your father always boasts of his secret tunnels."

"Well you're sending him back to Azkaban so I'm sure that will humble him." Draco spat bitterly.

"Watch it boy. I've done more for your family than you know." Snape warned.

"It's all going to be alright Draco." Hermione tried to be reassuring placing a hand on his upper arm "You heard Kingsley and Professor Snape; your father hasn't really even participated since the takeover. He won't be in prison long."

"If he is at all, Lucius Malfoy could always talk himself out of anything." Hagrid said lowly.

But Malfoy didn't seem to hear him for he addressed Hermione angrily "Because Azkaban is such a picnic isn't it, what's a few days in Azkaban…better yet a few months. No big deal right?!"

"That's not what I meant…" She stuttered taken aback by his outburst.

"Azkaban destroys people, that's what you said wasn't it?" Draco spat "I mean that's why you jumped to risk your life for your _boyfriend_ when he was in there for only a couple of hours but never mind about old Lucius Malfoy, I'm sure he can take it- let's all risk our lives to throw him to the dementors and watch him rot."

"First Ron is _not_ my boyfriend." Hermione stressed heatedly "And let's not pretend that your father hasn't tried to _kill_ me and my friends on more than one occasion."

"He's still _my father_"

"I know that - why do you think I'm _here!"_

This seemed to shut Draco up and his mouth hung open a little stupidly. Hermione seized the upper hand that she had just gained "And not that it's any of your business but Ron likes Luna and I told him that I like you but I am rapidly reassessing that opinion."

Draco gaped more and his cheeks went a little red. Hermione felt both satisfied at putting him in that state and all of a sudden very shy and embarrassed for what she had just admitted.

"I…I…" He stuttered. "You like…I…"

"Will cease with the teenage melodrama for the moment" Snape drawled "We are here and may I remind you both that this is meant to be a secret mission."

Hermione and Draco both looked at the floor embarrassed. Hagrid chuckled and whispered something about 'young love'. They arrived at the base of another staircase and climbed it to find themselves in the Malfoys's basement kitchen.

"Draco, take Miss Granger and Hagrid. Awake your parents but wait for me before you tackle Bellatrix." Snape ordered before extending out his arm and drawing delicately in the air with his wand muttering as he began the complicated task of removing the wards.

"Come on" Draco whispered leading Hermione and Hagrid through the house. It was much finer than Cathrack Tor, they tiptoed across richly embroidered carpets and past portraits of Malfoy ancestors from centuries ago that snored in their frames.

Draco led them up several ornate staircases before they reached the master bedroom. He put his fingers to his lips and gently pushed the door open, Hermione crept in with him as Hagrid stood outside on guard.

Even in the near darkness Hermione could see the room was magnificent, green velvet curtains hung from three windows which stretched from floor to ceiling in a room that was longer than Hermione's entire house. At one end a large fireplace held the dying embers of a fire underneath the tapestry of a beautiful medieval witch and impressive looking medieval wizard. At the other stood a gigantic four poster bed also framed in green velvet with gold trimming and carved with images of peacocks, serpents and dragons.

The inhabitants of the bed were less impressive. Draco ran to his mother's side as Hermione hung back awkwardly staring at the sleeping couple that had once loomed over her and her friends. They were now thin and pale with bags under their eyes, claw marks on Mrs Malfoy's cheeks and the white blond long hair of Lucius Malfoy had begun to thin. In some places clumps had fallen out leaving small bald patches.

"Mother" Draco whispered shaking her awake "Mother!"

"Draco" she murmured her eyes fluttering awake as she registered him with disbelief "Is it really you? You must be a dream" she said stroking his cheek all the same.

"It's me, mother." Draco said his eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Oh Draco." Narcissa Malfoy flung her arms around her son sobbing and clutching to him desperately.

"Draco?" A hoarse voice spoke; Lucius Malfoy had woken and stared at his son in utter bafflement.

"It's our son Lucius, he's come back." Narcissa gushed happily "He's here."

"My boy!" Lucius whispered and clasped the pair of them in his arms.

Hermione looked around uneasily, Mr and Mrs Malfoy had not spotted her yet but the portraits on the wall had, they had woken up at the scene and were watching both Hermione and Draco and whispering to themselves. She did not want to break up the scene of loving family reconciliation but they were running out of time. Tentatively she cleared her throat.

Lucius and Narcissa's eyes snapped in her direction as they heard her and registered her presence in the room.

"You brought _her_ here! Are you mad!" Lucius hissed angrily.

"Draco, no, it's too danger…" His mother started but Draco stopped her.

"It's over" He told them soberly "It's done; Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord. They've come to arrest Aunt Bellatrix and…you father." He looked terrible as he said this and then added very quickly "But I helped Granger and you haven't even done anything lately and you always said gold speaks more than sense so I'm sure that they won't actually…"

But Mr Malfoy was shaking his head "It's not possible, the Dark Lord is too powerful – she has tricked you Draco."

"M..Mr Malfoy, it is true." Hermione said tentatively "Voldemort is dead. Look at your arm, the Dark Mark is gone."

Mrs Malfoy looked between her son, her husband and Hermione as though she did not know what to believe. When his father did not venture to check his mark, Draco did – he rolled up his sleeve and showed them the bare expanse of pale flesh. Slowly Lucius with widened eyes rolled up his own silk nightshirt sleeve to reveal skin that was also clear and pale and blemish free.

"Oh!" Mrs Malfoy squeaked, her hands jumping to her mouth and her eyes shining with joy.

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy, we don't have much time" Hermione said stepping closer to the bed "Is there anyone else…"

BANG! The sound came from the corridor outside and shook the room, rattling the photos of Draco as toddler on the bedside cabinet.

"_Filthy half breed, you attempt to sneak into this house…Crucio, Crucio, Crucio!"_

"No!" Hermione whispered in horror "Hagrid!" And she ran for the door.

"Wait!" Draco jumped up and grabbed her arm "Is there anyone else in the house?" He asked his parents quickly.

Before they could answer a great bellowing roar of pain echoed from the corridor and Hermione wrenched free from Draco and ran out of the bedroom.

"_Expelliarmus!_" She yelled at Bellatrix but missed. Hagrid stood panting on the other side of the corridor clutching his chest.

"Get back inside Hermione!" He ordered.

"So the mudblood has come out to play" Bellatrix cackled "I heard 'ickle Draco and his whore had come home…._Confringo!_"

Hermione jumped into the middle of the corridor to avoid the blasting curse that smashed into the door frame sending dust and plaster flying.

"_Impedimenta!_" It was Draco, who appeared from the cloud of dust shooting curses at his aunt along with Hermione.

"Bellatrix! Stop!" Narcissa Malfoy cried appearing with her husband "You will not harm my son!"

Bellatrix did indeed stop but she did not lower her wand and a malicious gleam in her eye "I will kill your filthy blood traitor son" she hissed with delight licking her lips at the prospect.

Hermione edged towards Hagrid who was struggling to stay upright after taking the Cruciatus curse repeatedly

"Then you will die." Lucius Malfoy threatened.

"Bella it is over" Narcissa begged "All can be as it once was – don't you understand it is over. The Dark Lord is dead, Harry Potter has won."

"_LIAR!"_ Bellatrix screeched backing down the corridor "LIAR! THE DARK LORD'S HEADQUARTERS ARE UNDER ATTACK!" She shouted "PROTECT THE PURE! PROTECT THE CLEAN!"

And with that she fled.

"No!" Hermione cried and immediately ran after her.

Draco chased her "Are you mental! Remember what Snape said!"

"We can't let her go!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Draco wait!" Mr and Mrs Malfoy were running desperately behind "The Lestranges…"

Hermione did not have time to wonder what they meant for the floor started to shake violently beneath their feet. Hermione grasped desperately for the picture rail to try and regain her balance but a second later large cracks burst through the corridor breaking up the ground beneath them.

Hermione and the Malfoys fell two storeys amongst stone, dust, plaster and splintered wood, onto the hard floor of a dark cavernous ballroom. Hermione's left leg cracked painfully as she fell onto it and the pain was like a red hot knife scraping along her bone. She was surrounded by rubble and broken glass from the chandelier that had smashed to the floor when the ceiling had collapsed.

"Lucius" She heard the dusty shaken Narcissa whispered as she crawled towards her husband who lay on the cold tiled floor perfectly still, blood pooling at his head.

Hermione found herself being pulled to her feet by the back of her jumper and her wand being wrenched from her fingers by a familiar face.

"Maud…you came back" Rabastan Lestrange whispered savagely gripping her arms painfully.

"Let go of me!" She spat.

"Oh I can't do that – you might run away again little girl."

"Don't touch her!" Draco shouted angrily, he was pinned to the ground by a large broken beam that crushed his arm and shoulder.

"No" Mrs Malfoy whimpered as she was dragged away from her husband by Rodolphus Lestrange who had appeared from the shadows, not drunkenly stupid but unhinged and dangerous.

"Draco, Draco" Bellatrix Lestrange sang as she approached the struggling Draco "I always said Cissy was too soft on you, how many times were you told not to play with things that aren't yours. The mudblood is Rabastan's, she is his to do with as he likes…well for what's left of his very short and pathetic existance." She smirked and Hermione felt Rabastan shift a little uneasily and she remembered that he must have received some sort of punishment for letting her and Sirius escape.

"You on the other hand are _mine_. You were such a disappointment, a pureblood child of two noble lines and yet you turned out a snivelling pathetic blood traitor. I would have given anything for a child, a pure blood child to aid the Dark Lord after my death and you…you wretched boy somehow managed to be worse than nothing at all." Bellatrix said calmly twirling her wand before pointing it at him "And now you will die."

"NO!" Hermione and Mrs Malfoy cried.

"_Avada…_"

"_Aurumignis!_" Gold fire shot out of the darkness and straight at Bellatrix Lestrange, she dodged it just in time as Snape stepped forward from the darkness at the entrance to the ballroom.

"Snape, I should have known it was you helping the boy and his mudblood" Bellatrix hissed shooting curses at Snape that he deflected "You always were fond of mudbloods weren't you, we'll see what the Dark Lord has to say when he finds out his favourite is a traitor after all."

"The Dark Lord is dead you stupid witch" Snape spat casting more wandless spells at her "It is over, give up."

Rabastan shifted again as he heard Snape's words and as they duelled Hermione took her chance. "It's true." She whispered "Voldemort is dead, Harry Potter defeated him, take a look at your Dark Mark…it's gone."

Rabastan stared down at her in shock "You lie." He whispered hoarsely. "He's too powerful."

Hermione shook his head and looked at him with what she hoped were trusting eyes, Maud's trusting eyes "I said his name and he didn't come, he's truly dead" She whispered "Take your chance and flee while you still can."

Whether it was to run or to check his Dark Mark, Hermione could not say for certain, but for whatever motive Rabastan let go of her for a brief second and a brief second was all she needed to wrench herself out of his arms and snatched her wand from his fingers.

"Oh you clever little witch." Rabastan laughed lowly and shooting curses at her. In the confusion Mrs Malfoy had also somehow escaped Rodolphus and was duelling him as she stood in front of Draco and Lucius protectively.

"_EVANESCO!_" There was a great _whoosh _and cold winter air swirled into the room. One of the large arched windows bin the middle of the room had vanished and in through it flew Professor McGonagall, Sturgis Podmore, Cho Chang and Lee Jordan on broomsticks.

Rabastan looked up distracted at their arrival "_Stupefy!_" Hermione cried and he fell to the floor stunned.

Hermione, Narcissa Malfoy, Snape, McGonagall, Sprout, Cho and Lee all circled Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange now.

"It is over Bellatrix." Professor McGonagall told her calmly "You have lost, your master is dead, please come quietly and prevent any further suffering."

"You're liars, you are all liars!" She spat, her eyes red and manic but her husband it seemed was not so firm in his faith. Rodolphus Lestrange slowly unrolled his sleeve to see the Dark Mark had gone.

As deranged and devoted as she was, even Bellatrix could not ignore the sight of bare pale skin where there had once been the permanent mark of the Dark Lord burned into the skin by the very wizard himself.

With frantic red eyes she wrenched back her own sleeve and saw…nothing.

"_NOOOOOOOOO!_" She screamed in a wild desperate blood curdling howl that was more like an animal than a woman.

The room about them began to shake, the glass on the floor began to tinker, the portraits rattled, the rubble vibrated against the ground. Something wild and powerful was stirring within Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Duck!" cried Snape and they all fell to the floor as a great circle of green fire burst from Bellatrix's chest shot out across the room in all directions and then rebounded straight back at her and Rodolphus.

When it was over Hermione raised her head and saw the burned corpses of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange in the centre of the room.

As they pulled themselves together and Hermione and Narcissa worked to free Draco a silver weasel drifted through the open window and landed in front of them.

"_The Ministry of Magic is secure_" Mr Weasley's voice spoke from the weasel "_Send us your prisoners."_

oOoOoOo

They set up a perimeter around Gringotts, Bill directed members of the Order and DA to cover the main entrance to the bank as well as several side entrances. Fleur and Professor Flitwick meanwhile had Apparated to Shrewsbury to attempt to explain things to the Head Goblin so that the goblins didn't arrive at work on Christmas day and to unexpectedly find their bank apparently under siege.

"You will be safe won't you Ron? Be careful." Mrs Weasley fretted readjusting his collar as they prepared in the darkened street of Diagon Alley. Ron tried not to roll his eyes, it was Fred and George she should be worrying about – they were the ones going off into Knockturn Alley with Professor Lupin.

"It'll be fine Mum." He reassured her "We've got the biggest group out of the lot and only the stupidest Death Eaters are going to try and get their gold out before going on the run. Besides I'll be right here."

"Well I know you'll be in the area…" Mrs Weasley admitted "Just don't disappear for five months this time."

Ron frowned, what did she mean _he was going to be in the area_? He was stationed right next to her.

"I'm sorry Molly we don't have much time" Lupin walked up to them "Ron, it's time to go."

Ron followed him to his group in confusion "I'm going with you?" He frowned.

"Didn't Severus tell you?" Lupin asked "I'm afraid I overruled his request that you go with him to Malfoy Manor as I needed you in Knockturn Alley."

"You do?" Ron asked in amazement having never really been picked for a team let alone fought over before. He normally just ended up on whatever team Harry or his brothers were on.

"Yes of course, you have fought Greyback before haven't you?" Lupin explained calmly "And from what I hear you were in Knockturn Alley only recently staking out Snatchers."

"It's a sorry state of affairs when Ronnie's seen more action than either of us." Fred tutted.

"Well that's not exactly hard; I mean you two have just been basically messing about in a laboratory for the past few months." Alicia Spinnet remarked wryly.

"That's not our fault, we were preparing" George defended.

"Yeah, Harry, Ron and Hermione weren't supposed to defeat Moldywart for ages" Fred complained "They were supposed to leave some time for the rest of us to show off."

Hestia Jones shushed them and pointed to the flats above the shops where witches and wizards slept. They crept into Knockturn Alley silently walking in single line to keep to the shadows. They passed by dusty closed shops with shrunken heads and doorways framed with cobwebs under which homeless wizards and banshees slept. Rats scuttled past them more unabashed than they would in daylight and at one point Alicia jumped nearly a foot in the air when a baby acromantula came down on top of her head. Fortunately she was able to stop herself from screaming and Charlie quickly blasted the creature away.

As they moved further into the alley pairs broke off from the main group to head in different directions. Seamus Finnegan and The Hog's Head barman (a wizard named Aberforth) went to the lair of a powerful vampire follower of Voldemort's. Hestia Jones and Angelina Johnson stole into a house where muggleborns were known to be taken to perform unspecified 'services' for wizards. Charlie Weasley and Alicia Spinnet headed for The Haunted Headless Hag where it was rumoured Scabior and his gang of Snatchers were hiding.

Greyback's lair was less of a house and more of a cave that fell between the surrounding stone buildings. The opening was a long jagged crack in the stonework that showed nothing but darkness beyond and from which wafted the smell of blood.

"Remember tomorrow is the full moon" Lupin said to Ron, Fred and George as they rolled up their sleeves "Greyback and his cronies will be more powerful tonight, if you think there is the slightest chance of being bitten Disapparate immediately."

Ron could tell Fred wanted to make a joke about Lupin being extra powerful as well but had sensed this was not the moment. Greyback was an arrogant vicious creature who was more beast than wizard, a fact which turned out to have an upside – he didn't have wards. Lupin had explained that he wasn't sure whether this was because Greyback couldn't cast them or because he didn't think he needed them.

As they crept into the lair the smell of blood grew stronger as did other even more unsavoury stenches. Nearby they heard the distance rumble of growling.

"He knows we're here." Lupin whispered before crying "_Lumos MAXIMA!_"

The cavern they were in burst with bright blue light from Lupin's wand and Ron barely had time to take in the blood on the walls or straw on the floor before a female werewolf lunged at him.

She had blood red eyes, tangled stringy greasy black hair and long pointed fingernails that cut into Ron's shoulders piercing the skin with blood as she straddled him toppling him over in the process. "Filthy human" She whispered opening her mouth to reveal dagger like teeth stained with blood and made to bite his neck.

"Stupefy!" Ron shouted hitting her at close range with a stunning spell just before her teeth could graze his neck. He shoved her stunned body off her to see Fred and George frantically duel a wand armed werewolf whilst Lupin fought Greyback himself.

And fight was the right word for it. The two werewolves seemed to have dispensed with wands altogether and were grappling on the floor like beasts. Lupin punched Greyback who shook it off as nothing and grabbed Lupin's neck squeezing it as Lupin begun to choke. Greyback reared back his head snarling as he launched down to tear Lupin's skin with his jaws.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Ron cried shooting the spell at Greyback.

Greyback froze; his arms and legs snapped together like magnets and he toppled off of Lupin awkwardly like a stiff plank of wood.

"Thank you Ronald." Lupin panted as Ron helped him up. In the meantime Fred and George had defeated the third werewolf who rested against the wall growling as all movements were pinned by the thick cords that wrapped around his body.

A stream of silver vapour flew into the cavern and a silver weasel announced with his father's voice _"The Ministry of Magic is secure. Send us your prisoners."_

oOoOoOo

Harry felt unbelievably awkward and stupid sitting next to Neville on the benches of the Wizengamot in oversized plum coloured robes and a too big hat they had found in storage that almost covered his eyes. The whole session was strange, several of the Wizengamot members had turned up in their dressing gowns and exclaimed disbelief on seeing Harry and hearing what had happened. Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden had opened a bottle of firewhiskey during the preliminaries and Elphias Doge and an elderly witch had started singing _The Ballad of the Winning Warlock_ in the back row.

To add to the oddness, Harry and Neville were not the only wizards summoned to use their previous little used ancestral seats as Kingsley wanted to make sure they had enough votes to remove Pius Thickness, freeze Death Eaters's Gringotts accounts and release the muggleborns from Azkaban as quickly as possible. Mr MacMillan was sitting in front of them with his arms folded angrily very much resenting that he was being obliged to vote rather than attend his recovering wife. Nearby Hannah Abbott was attempting to explain to her very confused great grandfather what exactly was going on.

"I don't know about you but I'm giving up this seat as soon as this is all over." Harry whispered to Neville.

"Here here." Neville agreed.

oOoOoOo

"I can't thank you enough Professor Sprout. It is such a relief to free of this Imperius Curse once and for all." Yaxley declared as he was shown down a corridor at the Ministry at wandpoint by Sprout "Please congratulate Harry Potter for me." He said as he was shown into one of the cells "Once this has all been sorted out I will do my all to help bring those despicable Death Eaters to justice."  
"Of course you will" Professor Sprout rolled her eyes as Tonks locked the cell door.

Hermione raised her eyebrows at the shameless lies made by the man who had tortured and almost killed Ron. She walked to the cell at the end of the passage where Lucius Malfoy was being attended to by two healers and his wife. Draco watched on from beyond the bars.

"Will he be okay?" Hermione asked putting a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

Draco nodded "They've put him in a coma and given him Skele-Gro and some other stuff to fix his skull and stop the internal bleeding." He explained hoarsely "They said he should be fine when he wakes up tomorrow."

"That's good news at least" Hermione said. All around them the cells of the Ministry were being filled up by Death Eaters and other dark followers of Voldemort. Some of them such as Stan Shunpike and Pius Thicknesse would likely be released once their manipulation by the Imperius Curse was evidenced. Others like Fenrir Greyback, brought in by the Weasley twins, would probably snarl and threaten in Azkaban for the rest of their lives.

"Listen I have to…" Hermione started.

"Go to Diagon Alley, yeah I know." Draco finished listlessly for her.

"It doesn't mean what you think it means" Hermione told him seriously "But they are my friends and Diagon Alley is the last fight in this war – I can't just abandon them."

Draco looked at her with deep eyes and she willed him to understand. Then he glanced quickly at his parents before steering them both out of the Malfoys' eyesight. He swept her up in his arms and gave her a long hard kiss in front of a cell containing Dolores Umbridge who huffed "Oh really!"

The paired ignored her "Come back" Draco whispered.

"I will" Hermione promised.

She kissed his cheek and left the cell area running into Harry outside the courtrooms wearing the most ridiculous plum coloured Wizengamot robes.

"Hey guess what?" Harry greeted her happily tugging off the robes "Kingsley's just been made acting Minister for Magic."

Hermione beamed "That's excellent!"

"Did everything go to plan at Malfoy Manor?" Harry asked throwing his robes into a corner and the pair made their way to the lifts.

"Sort of…Bellatrix is dead" Hermione admitted soberly "And Hagrid is in St Mungos…" and then she added quickly in response to Harry's worried expression "But he's fine they are just checking him over. Bellatrix used the Cruciatus curse on him quite a bit but they think his giant's blood stopped her from doing any lasting damage."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

They stepped out into the Atrium where Mr Weasley was speaking to a journalist from the Wizarding Wireless Network as two photographers took his picture. Hermione was reminded that she still had to release Rita Skeeter who currently sat in a jar on the Weasley twins's bathroom shelf.

"Diagon Alley?" Harry guessed as they reached the Apparition spot and Hermione nodded sharing the apprehension that was in his eyes nervous at what they would find there now that news of Voldemort's defeat was out.

They Disapparated with a _Crack! _They reappeared in Diagon Alley just outside Gringotts.

_BANG! BANG!_

Hermione and Harry immediately ducked and raised their wands ready for attack.

There was a bark of laughter "Calm down you two, it's only Fred and George." Ron grinned carrying two large frothing mugs of butterbeer towards them.

They looked up into the sky and saw fireworks explode into large glittering scarlet phoenixes, blue dragons and golden spirals. There was something of a street party going on with a Wizarding Wireless loudly blasting the Weird Sisters and people spun round in dance together in the street. Tom from The Leaky Cauldron had set up a barrel and table where he was serving free butterbeer and firewhiskey.

On the steps of Gringotts three goblins were spinning around in a circle singing "_He's dead, he's dead!"_ Lee Jordan and Charlie Weasley were chatting to a group of pretty witches making big gestures as they told them of their adventures. Dedaldus Diggle was shooting multi coloured streamers and confetti into the crowd and Seamus Finnegan and Lavender Brown were leading a conga line through the party.

Ginny ran up to them and hugged Hermione before throwing her arms around Harry and kissing him on the cheek.

"Thank Merlin, you're alright. Would you like some cake?" Ginny said offering them large chunks of thick fluffy strawberry sponge cake with sweet white icing. "Isn't it brilliant, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein found Fortescue in Dolohov's cellar when they went to arrest him. He says he's going to make free cake and ice cream for everyone now the war is over. Forstecue that is, not Dolohov."

"You missed the battle I'm afraid" Ron explained "Only Travers and Mulcibar showed up and Mum and Bill took them off to the Ministry. We waited for a bit longer but then the news came over the Wizarding Wireless that Voldemort was dead, Kingsley was Minister for Magic and the Death Eater's accounts had been frozen and we figured no one else would show up so…why not celebrate?"

"Why not?" Harry and Hermione agreed.

.

**Only one more chapter left. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story so far (both positive and negative criticism welcome)**


	31. At The Close

The days that followed Christmas passed by in a vague blur of parties, hearings and plenty of Mrs Weasley's home cooking. Harry and Hermione had both moved into Grimmauld Place with Sirius, Harry because he wanted spend time with Sirius and Hermione because she said she felt 'awkward' staying at the Burrow now that she and Malfoy were apparently 'involved.' They were invited to over to the Burrow for many meals however and through all the hubbub Harry found that he had barely had a minute to himself.

Strong salt air wafted into his nostrils as Harry stared out at the rolling dark blue waves of the North Sea and leant against the railings of _The Floating Cavalier_. The boat rocked gently in the water underneath the naked light of the bright winter sun. In his hands he rolled the old snitch between his fingers.

The silence that echoed around him was clear and freeing empty of the heavy threat of dread and duty. He took a breath and put the snitch to his lips.

"The end has come." He whispered. The shell broke open and revealed inside a tiny black stone with a jagged crack running down the middle.

The Resurrection Stone had cracked down the vertical line representing the Elder Wand. The triangle and circle representing the Cloak and the stone were still discernible.

With shaking hands Harry turned the stone over three times in his hands. He knew that it had worked when over the rush of waves he heard the light tread of footsteps on the wet deck behind him. He turned.

They were neither ghost nor truly flesh, he could see that. They resembled most closely the Riddle that had escaped from the diary so long ago, and he had been memory made nearly solid, less substantial than living bodies, but much more than ghosts, they moved toward him, and on each face, there was the same loving smile.

James was exactly the same height as Harry. He was wearing the clothes in which he had died, and his hair was untidy and ruffled, and his glasses were a little lopsided, like Mr. Weasley's.

Lily's smile was wide and loving. She pushed her long hair back as she drew close to him, and her green eyes, so like his, searched his face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him enough.

"You've been so brave."

He could not speak. His eyes feasted on her, and he thought that he would like to stand and look at her forever, and that would be enough.

"You are did it, you survived" said James. "We are ...so proud of you."

"I…I thought I was going to die." Harry admitted "I thought I w…would be with you again."

"And you will be…someday" Lily told him kindly raising an insubstantial hand to cup his cheek "But not for many more years to come."

"Now is the time to live son." James said. "Not to dwell in the past."

And he knew they were right, there would be no more ghosts, no more visions shared with dementors or Voldemort…he would never see them again. He had a sudden selfish urge to keep hold of the Resurrection Stone and stay with his parents forever.

"You are stronger than we ever could have hoped for" Lily whispered "Live…and love Harry."

"I'll miss you" Harry said feeling tears prickle his eyes

"You will see us again…one day." James repeated.

"We love you" Lily promised and then they were gone and Harry was left with a hollow ache in his chest. He felt as if something both important and suffocating had been taken from him.

He heard footsteps rise from below deck and quickly wiped his eyes with the cuff of his jumper.

"Everything ok?" Ginny appeared from below.

Harry nodded, he fingered the black stone in the palm of his hand and before he lost his nerve threw it over the side of the boat. It landed in the water with a 'plop' and sunk beneath the surface.

"What was that?"

"Just the past" Harry answered putting an arm around his girlfriend and feeling at peace.

Two hours later they had pulled into Scarborough dock and tied off the boat securely. They found Aunt Marge and Colonel Fubster eating lunch in a quaint seaside hotel named _The_ _Daisy Garden_. Harry had barely time to be surprised to see the no-nonsense Marge and staid Colonel sipping tea from flowered china tea cups on frilly doilies before his aunt was charging at him wearing a thunderous expression.

"You dare… you lying, thieving, ungrateful little brat!" she snarled, Ripper followed in her wake growling menacingly.

"I didn't lie but I am sorry." Harry said guiltily.

"Do you have any idea what you have put your aunt through boy!" The Colonel got up to stand behind Marge in support.

"Harry didn't have a choice, you see my brother was captured and Harry had to rescue him from the…" Ginny trailed off from her defence apparently remembering that they were in the middle of a muggle hotel and Colonel Fubster knew nothing of the magical world.

"I really am sorry" Harry said and he handed the Colonel the engine key to _The Floating Cavalier_. "It's moored in berth 12 in the harbour and fully stocked. You find it just as you left it."

"And I suppose you think that makes up for stealing a boat and leaving your aunt and I stranded?" Fubster demanded stonily.

"No, I know it doesn't." Harry quickly agreed and he addressed Marge "I know you don't believe me but I really did want to keep you safe, that's why I didn't say anything."

Marge did not respond she merely crossed her arms and fixed him with a medusa like glare.

"I…Anyway it doesn't matter, it's over now, Voldemort is gone." Harry said and he handed her a piece of paper "The Dursleys are safe now; this is their address although I imagine they'll be back in Privet Drive soon. None of you ever has to see me ever again."

More silence, Harry had expected not to be forgiven what he had not expected was to be disappointed by it. He bid them goodbye and turned to leave.

"Potter!" A crisp voice stopped him "You don't get off that easy!"

"I…uh…" Harry stuttered wondering if she actually would call the police.

"I will not be blamed if you degenerate into vagrancy again." Marge said crossly "I will expect you at three on Sunday afternoon, you can wash the dogs." She looked Ginny up and down with judging eyes "Your rude girlfriend may come too."

"I…um…ok" Harry agreed, not really sure what had happened but trying not to smile all the same.

oOoOoOo

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Draco asked again.

She was back in Azkaban although after Kingsley had removed the dementors from the prison it was more like a dismal drafty castle than a terrifying fortress.

Hermione nodded more confidently than she felt "I…I just want to put this whole thing behind me."

She could tell Draco did not really understand but he pretended to accept all the same and kissed her on the forehead "Come and get me if you need me."

Hermione nodded and watched as he went with his mother to visit Lucius Malfoy. Mr Malfoy's trial was scheduled later in January but with all the gold the Malfoys had been donating to pet causes of the various members of the Wizengamot Hermione could not see him staying in Azkaban for long.

"Are you ready?" Tonks asked her hand on the door of the chamber that had been set aside for visitors "Do you need a minute?"  
Hermione shook her head and steeled herself as she entered the room. It was bare but for a plain wooden table in the middle at which Rabastan Lestrange sat, his wrists in manacles chained to the chair. It was the first time Hermione had seen him in daylight in months and the change was something of a shock.

His cheeks were hollowed out and he had lost weight, there were deep bags around his eyes which had reddened and his hair had grown long and untamed.

"I did not think you would come." He told her in a voice bare of arrogance or humility.

"I won't again." Hermione told him shortly sitting down on the opposite side of the table.

There was a long pause before "I should thank you; I owe you my life you know." Rabastan's words were earnest but there was a certain twinkle in his eye that was not and it made Hermione feel uncomfortable "The Dark Lord had sentenced me to death, I was to die after siring a son – you and Potter saved me."

Another pause, Hermione did not know what to say to that.

Rabastan gave a dry laugh "Of course it was your trickery, your escape that sentenced me to death in the first place" He gave her an almost fond look "I should have known you were too clever for a squib."

"We talked of muggle history. The words I spoke to you could have been said by any squib or muggle." Hermione responded coldly.

"I used to wonder what it would be like if you were a witch." Rabastan spoke if he had not heard her "Not a pure blood one of course – you were never elegant enough for that. Perhaps a half blood working at the Ministry, I might have seduced you… made you my mistress."

"I'd rather swallow Gubraithian Fire."

Rabastan smirked "You can play the noble mudblood all you want Miss Granger, the righteous friend of Potter but we both know you were fond of me."

"You destroyed my friend's life, you tortured his parents into madness" Hermione spat "You kept me locked up as a slave."

"I saved you from that beast Crabbe, from the horrors he and his son inflicted on you."

"You won me in a card game like I was a prize, an object – an object you didn't even want." Hermione reminded him angrily.

"And yet you felt safe with me." Rabastan declared and triumph gleamed in his eyes when she did not deny it "Draco is a boy, no matter how much you have enthralled him he will never understand what Crabbe did to you because he did not know Crabbe like I did. He was not there with you every day in the immediate aftermath when I took you from that place – _I was_. I protected you and I am the only one you feel safe with because I am the only one who will ever understand."

"Shut up!" Hermione shouted, her skin crawling with his every word. His sentences dug into her bones and lodged themselves there "You have no idea what you are speaking of!"

"Don't I?" He challenged.

She panted heavily and felt sick at the look of victory in his eyes. She slowed her breathing and looked at him levelly meeting his purple eyes straight on.

She spoke calmly "You don't know me; you didn't even know my real name. I plotted and escaped with Sirius and Draco under your nose for weeks and you didn't notice _a thing_."

"You could have left at any time Maud." Rabastan continued to bait but Hermione couldn't let it get to her "You ran only when Snape showed up, you liked being with me."

"I feel sick every time I think of you." Hermione told him icily "But I won't anymore, I'll leave this prison and never think of you again. Your brother is dead, your mother will die soon and I'm sure Aelfraeda Selwyn has already moved on. You will rot in these cells for decades with nothing but the ghosts of those you have murdered torturing you."

She got up and before she left told him "I hope you live for a very _very_ long time."

When the door clanged shut she rested on the stone wall of the corridor and caught her breath.

"How did it go?" Tonks asked sympathetically rubbing Hermione's arm as if she hadn't been watching through the iron barred window in the door the whole time.

Hermione stepped into the older auror and hugged her, burying her eyes which were beginning to cry into Tonks's leather jacket. "Shh, there, there…" Tonks muttered meaningless words of comfort as she patted Hermione's head.

Hermione let go of her and wiped her eyes on her sleeve "Tonks, do you…do you think I could…that I could talk to you about…well that I could just talk to you someday?" She asked quietly.

"You name the time and place and I'm there." Tonks promised firmly.

"Um…how about tomorrow…somewhere, somewhere there aren't…people." Hermione stuttered.

"How about my flat?" Tonks suggested "I'll make some hot chocolate and kick Remus out."

Hermione nodded tentatively.

"And Hermione…we don't need to talk about everything tomorrow. Not if you don't want to." Tonks said kindly "We have all the time in the world"  
"Thank you."

Tonks chuckled and put a comforting arm round her "Not at all. Now let's go find my strangely attractive cousin and see if he can put a smile back on your face."

Hermione gave a half giggle and the pair went off in search of Draco.

oOoOoOo

_Dear Mr Weasley,_

_The handwriting in the letter I have just received is abysmal. Whilst I am barely able to make out the scrawling mess across the parchment I assume it must have come from yourself being as it was delivered by that most calamitous of creatures – the Weasley family owl. I really do suggest you put that bird out of its misery once and for all, one more journey and it is liable to kill itself or its intended recipient._

_In the meantime although I appreciate that you have been rather busy for the past few months that is no excuse for sloppy quillwork and I shall expect better when you return to Hogwarts in January._

_Within the child's splodge of black ink there appeared to be some suggestion of a chess match. I do not pretend to understand your predilection for self-imposed misery Weasley but I have no objection to humiliating you again. I shall be in the Defence Against the Dark Arts office on your return to Hogwarts. I have no desire to suffer the tedious complaints of staff, governors and students any more so Professor McGonagall has relieved me of that tiresome burden of the Headship – she seems to think I will find infinite more enjoyment cursing the students for a living._

_Regards_

_Professor Snape_

"He's still not very nice is he?" Luna commented. When Errol returned with the letter they had been sitting on the bed in Ron's bedroom reading the new version of the Quibbler (which was read _You Know Who Dead – Or is He? Mrs Biggins of Halifax spots the dark wizard in her local fishmongers_.) The Weird Sisters played quietly in the background over the wizarding wireless and the noise was broken only by an occasional croak from the large fat toad in the tank in the corner.

Ron, his Dad and Charlie had spent many hours coaxing, charming and corralling the ghoul from Ron's room and back into the attic. The family had then spent an exhaustive few days fixing and redecorating the Burrow after it's trashing by the Death Eaters. It was now as warm, cosy and eccentric as ever with an over decorated squashy Christmas tree by the fire and Mr Weasley's collection of rubber ducks back in the bathroom. Throughout the house wafted the smell of Mrs Weasley's delicious rhubarb pie.

"Eh…he's alright." Ron shrugged folding up the letter and putting it on his bedside table "Hey Luna?" He addressed her as though he had only just thought of something and not spent hours mulling over the words "Would you like to go out with me sometime?"  
Luna frowned "Do you mean on a date? Is this a trick?"

"Yes…No…I mean yes on a date and no it's not a trick." Ron clarified his mouth going a little dry as he waited for her to answer.

"OK" Luna shrugged simply "Should we kiss now?" she asked brightly.

"Um…err….alright" Ron stuttered trying not to grin.

A few minutes later Luna was lying on top of him and Ron's tongue was rummaging around in her mouth in a way that was much more enjoyable than it had been with Lavender.

"RON! Your friends are here!" Mrs Weasley screeched from downstairs.

Ron groaned, his head falling back onto his pillow.

"Oh goody – friends!" Luna squeaked excitedly jumping up. A second later he was following her downstairs and into the back garden where the others had already assembled.

Ginny was handing out broomsticks and Hermione was shaking her head firmly "I am not playing, I'll only make a fool of myself."

"Come on Granger." Malfoy wheedled "You can be on my team, we'll crush Potter."

Harry frowned "Since when have you ever been able to beat me in quidditch?"

"I'll join you ferret" Ron offered "You can see what it's like to be on the winning side for once."

Malfoy grimaced "Wait till we're back at Hogwarts Weasley." He countered "And Granger and I are beating you in every test going as usual."

"No luck Malfoy, he and Harry probably aren't going back to Hogwarts." Ginny piped up.

Hermione who had been looking at the broomstick she had been handed with deep suspicion snapped her head upwards "What?!"

Harry and Ron gulped as she fixed them with a demanding stare "Well you see Kingsley offered us this Auror trainee thing…"

"…and there's not much we were going to get out of Hogwarts anyway…"

"_You are not going back to school?_" Hermione hissed dangerously.

"I have an idea." Luna suggested "If Harry and Ron's team beat Hermione's they can join the Ministry, if Hermione plays and her team beats theirs, they have to go back to school."

Ron stared at Luna gobsmacked.

"Right!" and before he knew it Hermione was grabbing the quaffle decisively and launching herself in to the air.

"Excellent." Malfoy grinned looking thoroughly delighted at the turn of events.

"Wait Hermione!" Harry and Ron called jumping on their brooms and racing after her.

Soon all six were in the air laughing and taunting with nothing so important on their mind as a game of quidditch until the sun started to set and Mrs Weasley called them in for tea.

**The End.**

**.**

**Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to read this story, especially those who have been kind enough to leave a review. It's meant a lot and I'm very grateful.**

**Please let me know what you think of the ending and story overall (all criticism welcome.)**


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